Avenue Montaigne, a street
in the 8th arrondisement of
Paris
, France
Name origin
Avenue Montaigne was originally called the allée des Veuves
(widows' alley) because women in mourning gathered there, but the
street has changed much since those days of the early 18th century.
The current name comes from
Michel
de Montaigne, a writer of the French
Renaissance. In the nineteenth century, the
street earned some renown for its sparkling and colourful
Mabille balls on Saturday nights.
Fashion
Avenue
Montaigne boasts numerous stores specialising in high fashion, such as Dior, Chanel, Valentino and Ralph
Lauren, as well as jewellers like Bulgari and other high-class establishments such as
the Plaza
Athénée
hotel.
By the
1980s, the avenue Montaigne was considered to be la grande
dame of French streets for high fashion and accessories, and
is now considered more important than rue du Faubourg
Saint Honoré
. Several established clothing designers set
up here, particularly the
LVMH (Moët Hennessey
Louis Vuitton) group. LVMH brought investment and international
attention to the street, and its stable of top designers and firms,
such as Céline, Loewe, Vuitton,
Inès de la Fressange and formerly
Christian Lacroix, own a
substantial portfolio of the street's real estate.
The
Canadian
Embassy is also located on avenue Montaigne, at
No. 35.
In 2009, the Comité Montaigne has launched a website,
http://www.avenuemontaigneguide.com , with an interactive
map.
Monument
At the 15,
avenue Montaigne stands the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
.
Jewellery robberies
On
4 December 2008
the
Harry Winston boutique at No 29
was robbed of more than
€80 million (about
USD$100 million) worth of "diamond rings, necklaces and luxury
watches" by a "gang of three or four" armed men just before
closing. At least two of the thieves were men wearing "wigs and
women's clothes." It had also been robbed in October 2007, when a
similar heist netted the robbers about €20 million
References
- Robbers take €80 million in Paris jewelry
theft, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, 5
December 2008
- Thieves take €20 million in jewels in Paris heist,
International Herald Tribune,
11 October 2007, accessed 5 December 2008