The birth of department stores

Galeries Lafayette, La Samaritaine, Printemps Haussmann and Le Bon Marché are cult locations that symbolize the Parisian art of living. As early as the Belle Époque, Paris saw the birth of the wave of department stores, and the new consumer trends they spawned.

Temples of fashion for some, architectural marvels for others, these mythical places are now at the heart of a double exhibition that lets you rediscover their histories, the context of their creations and their evolution to the present day: "The Birth of Department Stores".

The first part of this exhibition awaits you at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Here, you'll discover the beginnings of the first Parisian department stores, from 1850 to 1925, through collections of advertising, fashion, toys and decorative arts. The democratization of fashion, the invention of sales and mail-order sales, commercial and communication strategies are all revealed in this first phase.