OUR STORY

Les Touristes was born in 2003, in the heart of the Marais in Paris, in a shop with the atmosphere of a cabinet of curiosities. At the time, Jérôme Gigot and Yann Gicquel, the two founders, displayed their treasures brought back from travels, from Burma to Morocco, from India to England via Central Europe. This place became a starting point, a living laboratory of ideas, a scene conducive to the birth of a larger artistic project: that of creating a brand that captures the spirit of travel and transforms it into fabrics, into colors, into patterns.

Les Touristes is an assumed name, almost ironic, like an invitation to look at the world with curiosity, enthusiasm and humility. Being a tourist means never stopping to marvel. This is the stance that Jérôme, artistic director, cultivates in his creative work.

It all begins with a trip to Burma and Southeast Asia. There, the local craftsmanship, folklore, brilliant hues, traditional patterns awaken something. An emotion. A vision. These encounters would give birth, a few years later, to the Les Touristes brand.

Each pattern is a visual travel journal. They all bear the intimate imprint of their creator's inspirations. Jérôme draws his love for England through English gardens, botany, 60s pop culture and its musical icons. He also pays homage to the 19th-century Arts & Crafts movement, embodied by William Morris, who introduced decorative art into working-class homes, while drawing inspiration from the free and eccentric spirit of the Bloomsbury group, that circle of nonconformist artists, writers and thinkers.

Les Touristes is a surprising blend of multiple influences.

A true artistic and cultural mix & match. One foot in Paris, another in Jaipur, a heart between the pages of an old English novel and the sounds of a Bowie vinyl.