This past Wednesday, after a long morning of groups presenting the diverse range of “Spirit of Place” projects, I was thrilled to hear that we would be having a family outing for lunch (on UW’s dime, no less). I was not disappointed to be served a delicious goat cheese ravioli tart/quiche with apricot juice and a slice of iced almond cake. Yum !!!! A proper celebration for all of our hard work, and I thought that would be the end of the day. As one of the less walking-inclined members of the bunch, a pang of anxiety hit when I found out that we weren’t done (yes, I should be keeping a closer eye on what the schedule has laid out for us each day; no, that will likely not be changing). However, I was pleasantly surprised when Yann from Village des Createurs (VDC) began speaking to us about fashion and the history of artisans in the space we were in–Passage Thiaffait (the even more pleasant surprise to my weary mind and body was that the farthest we would be going is next door).

The VDC is a nonprofit that aims to help finance and support young designers and their brands in the Rhone-Alps region. In the VDC Boutique, Yann gave a presentation explaining VDC’s mission and efforts, and we got to peruse the selections of clothes, jewelry, accessories, and decor their associated brands had to offer. I was beyond impressed by the beauty and originality present in the items for sale. This was one piece that had specifically caught my eye:  Thus, I was excited to hear that where we had just eaten lunch was surrounded by shops supported by the VDC and that we would have the opportunity to browse their spaces and meet the artists responsible.

Every shop I stepped into impressed me. Being able to see the space in which these artisans create their products just feet away from where the goods are sold was truly remarkable to me. These people in front of me made the items I was fawning over right in that same space. The same space that they were housed in by the VDC, making this little hideaway of shops in a traboule possible. Each store had its own atmosphere that reflected the artist and their brand.

I was most drawn to the brand Leonor Roversi, inspired by a female surrealist painter, as themes of liberation for women and fighting social conventions are ever-present in the clothing and accessories they had for sale.  They had t-shirts with beautiful line drawings of goddesses from many cultures paired with empowering statements in English and French as well as references to popular feminist “catchphrases” and images of strong women. My favorite item that I saw throughout the whole day was in this shop:

Femme means “woman” in French, and homme means “man.” Seeing these words stacked like this, paired with abstract, genderless facial features sends the message that regardless of gender, we are all people. Royalty (peep the crowns). However, as a non-binary identifying person, this design carried even more significance to me. I am genderfluid (meaning my gender identity can vary over time), but I primarily use they/them and she/her pronouns as they are the most convenient and fitting for me. This shirt, to me, held the spirit of both masculine and feminine being able to exist in one space, in one person. My personal experience with gender identity has been rather complicated and confusing, so the abstract imagery really struck me as capturing a lot of the complexities that go along with gender. I wanted to buy this shirt to proudly rep this impressive brand as well as the gender spectrum, but I, unfortunately, did not have 40 euros to drop on this t-shirt. If I have money leftover at the end of the trip I hope to return here and buy this!

Seeing all of this new fashion in this hidden gem of Thiaffat inspired me to see (and some other members of the group) to explore what other kinds of styles Lyon has to offer. We browsed some incredible vintage stores including Carrie Bradshop, Fripes Ketchup, and Leonard that were scattered around Hotel de Ville. Again, all items of interest to me were sadly out of my price range, but it was so fun to browse these shops with friends and get a sneak peek into the origins of the original style that is so apparent throughout the city and its residents.