Why French Girls—Like Seemingly Everyone Else These Days—Are Moving to Los Angeles Inline
Photo: Courtesy of Lucile Litton1/8Lucile Littot
CV: The young artist—whose work spans painting, sculpture, and performance—is a lively presence at gallery openings around the city.
Moved: 2013. “I was fed up with moody Paris. I came to L.A. for the holidays, had a romance with the city, and decided to stay. As a painter, it’s also easier to find a bigger studio and work with the best light.”
On L.A. style: “You can go grab coffee in a kimono and just a pair of heels, and nobody will notice. In Paris, they will probably take you to the mental institution for that! But I have to say, Parisian class is irreplaceable to me. I like an eccentric balance of both, like Belle de Jour meets Blue Velvet.”
Photo: Courtesy of Rebecca Dayan / @rebecca_dayan2/8Rebecca Dayan
CV: The multi-hyphenate It girl, raised in the South of France, has acted in films on both sides of the Atlantic and recently debuted her first solo show of paintings at New York’s Catherine Ahnell Gallery.
Moved: 2015, for “a change of scenery.”
On the new mood of the city: “A lot of the people around me, and like me, come from New York or have lived in New York, so they took some of that influence with them on their way to L.A.”
Photo: Courtesy of Flavie Webster3/8Flavie Webster
CV: Webster is a co-designer, with her husband, Clayton, of Cerre—a minimalist luxury fashion line known for its killer leather jackets (Rooney Mara wore one in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo).
Moved: 13 years ago with Clayton, a California native, whom she met while both were modeling in Paris.
On L.A. style: “L.A. influences our collectsions because of its history. A lot of movements in music and art started here. I mean, sometimes style gets crazy here, but at least people are trying to be different, and I find that refreshing.”
Photo: Courtesy of SoKo / @sokothecat4/8Soko
CV: The Karl Lagerfeld–approved singer-songwriter (and fashion-world muse for what she calls her “white goth” style) is also a César-nominated actress in her native country.
Moved: 2008, the day after “a weird dream that felt like a prophecy.”
Why she’s staying put: “It really isn’t the superficial place everyone wants to make of it. The east side is getting to be a lot more like the Williamsburg [Brooklyn] of L.A. I have such a tight community of amazing creative people around me; there’s such a good music scene here, too.”
Photo: Christian Sorensen Hansen5/8Nastassia Clucas
CV: The rising fashion photographer, born and raised in the South of France, shoots lookbooks and campaigns for many of the city’s emerging fashion brands, like Jesse Kamm and Nu Swim.
Moved: 2014, by way of San Francisco. “I was seeking the warmth and dusty golden light all around but also came because people here are making things happen.”
On L.A. style: “L.A. women are less impressed about how recent the pieces in their closets are and more about the potential of a singular designer piece worn with a variety of vintage accessories and basics. That being said, I miss the overall elegance found more commonly in Paris streets. It’s sometimes a little too casual here.”
Photo: Courtesy of Marie du Petit Thouars6/8Marie du Petit Thouars
CV: After working in Paris as a fashion editor for the London Sunday Times under Isabella Blow, Du Petit Thouars studied photography at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. Her flourishing fragrance line, Maison Louis Marie, is named after her ancestor, the pioneering French botanist Louis Marie Aubert du Petit Thouars, but is formulated in downtown L.A.
Moved: 10 years ago, “to experience something completely new.”
On L.A. style: “It’s impossible to even compare, since I consider Paris to be the most stylish place on the planet, but what I do like about L.A. is there seem to be fewer rules for ‘good’ or ‘bad.’ So you are free to let go a little and be a bit more all over the place with your personal style, which is fun for me.”
Photo: Courtesy of Anne Dressen / @annikla20057/8Anne Dressen
CV: A curator at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, Dressen is living in L.A. researching an upcoming exhibition on jewelry by artists and designers and lecturing at the Art Center College of Design.
Moved: 2015. “It was important for me to leave Paris for a while. L.A. is a very good city to focus and read and write.”
On L.A. style: “For the first time in my life, I’m picking up my children from school in Zumba outfits.”
Photo: Getty Images8/8Dorothée Perret
CV: A former editor at Purple, the gallery-scene fixture now runs the art publishing house DoPe Press and Paris, LA, a biannual culture magazine she says is inspired by “the feeling of being in one place and thinking about another.”
Moved: 2013, “for personal reasons. I’m married to an American from the northwest [artist Oscar Tuazon].”
Apples and oranges: “L.A. is quite an ugly city compared to Paris—no? But what’s really beautiful about it is the dream that this city carries alongside its history. L.A. is a complete myth, which is what makes it a great destination for artists.”
