The northern French city of Lille is using a creative public initiative to help reinvigorate previously downcast neighborhoods. The initiative is called Maisons de Mode, and it is helping the country’s fourth largest metro area to bring new life to older areas of the city with fashion and clothing designers.
One of the new garment districts is along the Rue du Fauborg des Postes. This district runs through a neighborhood known as Lille Sud and it has seen a number of new stores open already, with several more expected by 2010. The Jardins de Mode houses a permanent collection of ateliers in a former cinema and also holds a twice yearly party called La Nuit des Soldes where the designers sell their lines to the public. There is also a permanent boutique on the ground floor for shoppers. Other shops, boutiques and studios abound in Lille Sud, including Petites Creations and Contemporary Africa, which changes themes annually.
Roubaix is the home for the second innovative zone along the Rue de l’Espérance and the Avenue Jean Lebas. There is a fashion museum called La Piscine in a converted indoor swimming pool, as well as Hélène Boulanger’s store, Sue. This well-known designer has stores in New York and Tokyo and is quite popular. December has seen 15 more boutiques open in this district, and more are on the way.
Those international property investors who want a place in northern France can now enjoy some of the same fashions as in Paris in Lille and Robaix.
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