INTERVIEW – A legendary place, the 7L bookstore, under the auspices of Chanel, remains true to the spirit of Karl Lagerfeld. Its director opens the doors of this creative mecca to us.
Antique Quarter, Left Bank, Paris. A black number crosses a pink letter. The understated, elegant 7L bookstore sign blends into this ageless setting, where Gainsbourg and Lacan resided. Since its acquisition by the house of Chanel in 2021, the insider address was founded in 1999 by Karl Lagerfeld. , continued to evolve.Meeting Laurence Delamar at the head of this epicenter of creation and the publications of the same name.
Madame Figaro. – How did you wake up the local genius?
Lawrence Delamare. – The house of Chanel was very much connected to this unique place in the world, which was a reflection of Karl’s insatiable curiosity. When it died, its president, Bruno Pawlowski, wanted to acquire it to protect his core business, the bookstore and publishing house. It has been renamed
A “library shelf,” it now hosts intimate moments around books, an element that is both magical and ubiquitous.
A salon is held there, in the pure tradition of the 18th century.e century… What is its origin?
Karl constantly referred to a painting by Adolf Menzel, a copy of which he had seen at the age of 12 in an antique dealer’s window in Hamburg. Frederick II is represented in his castle at Potsdam, near Berlin, surrounded by Voltaire and other French philosophers.This work embodies what guided Charles throughout his life: the taste for conversation, the wit of the Enlightenment, the elegance of the table, the lightness, this mix of politeness and sophistication.He encouraged us to get his furniture and pants to reinvent our hand from the elements beneath, the artistic creation of his art of living.
Do you also host guest book exchanges?How do you choose them?
Alongside the Literary Encounters on rue Cambon by Charlotte Casiraghi for Chanel, Karl or someone close to the spirit and values of the place he carries is invited to come and tell his story through books that: was on the first Wednesday of each month. It all started with the Franco-Lebanese architect Alain Asmar from Amman, who redesigned the great apartments of the Crillon with Carl, and the Canadian director Robert Carsen, who organized the “Carl Forever” tribute at the Grand Palais plate By Rameau in the Opéra-Comique, after Éric de Chassey, Vincent Barré and Chantal Thomas, we will soon welcome Guillaume Gallien, Didier Fusilier and Mathilde Inkerty. to combine different profiles to add more stories to this place that is already full of them.
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The 7L lounge also allows you to explore the library’s nearly 33,000 books…
It is a world library, like Borges’ Babylonian library. Books written in all languages form small piles that seem to float seven meters high, to which the passageways provide access. It is a library that does not impose itself, but invites a place of contemplation and, if desired, a place of confusion . In satin shoes Claudel says: “Order is the pleasure of reason, but disorder is the pleasure of imagination.” When Bruno Pawlowski entrusted me with the management of the place, I thought of this quote, which calmed me down a lot.
The thing about the library is that it’s messy
Lawrence Delamare
Literature, of course, but also dance, music… The program “Correspondence” seals the union of arts. What is the principle?
This eclecticism refers to Carl’s interests, which were extremely broad. The program covers the themes identified in its library: theater, reading and performance, dance, photography and visual arts. Every year, around thirty contemporary artists are invited to create and reproduce works inspired by the library. The idea was to invite them to immerse themselves in it time, as was the case last year, with Lorraine de Sagazan, who was preparing The silencea play staged at the Theater du Vieux-Colombier with the Comédie-Française troupe, based on Antonioni’s work. A way to keep the place alive, always at the forefront.
What will be the highlights of next season?
Pianist Bertrand Chameau will be played by John Cage. Writer Lor Limongi will provide bookish prescriptions to cure our ills.Jean Bellorini, director of the National People’s Theater of Villeurbanne, will adapt Eugene Onegin, by Alexander Pushkin. Photographer Olivia Arthur will capture the thread of childhood here in a darkroom installation. As part of the Exquis project, developed with Aymar Krosnier, Opera Ballet
Lyon will be inspired by a bookstore book, cosmic dance, by Stepanos
Elcock. We will also continue the collaboration initiated with the Paris Dance Project led by Benjamin Millepied and Solenn du Ha Masre.
The idea was to bring together different profiles to add other stories to this place, which is already full of them.
Lawrence Delamare
A new wind is blowing at 7L Editions, founded in 2001 by Karl Lagerfeld and discontinued after his death.Where does this momentum come from?
In 2023, Jean-Pierre Blanc, director of the Villa Noye and founder of the Hyères Festival, shared with us his desire to republish the forgotten literary work of Marie Laure de Noye. Villa Noailles was a place dear to Karl, so it seemed natural for us to participate in the rediscovery of this woman known as a patron but not as an author squirrel house Last October we published two of his essays. The Artist’s Diary follows Provençal lettersCo-published with Seghers, friendly house. Other headings must be published with the same requirement of a characterizing object today, By Tade Komar, winner of the 7L Photography Grand Jury Prize or our Book Boxes, launched with the help of Annette Messenger and Xavier Weihan.
“Knowledge is a true luxury,” said Karl Lagerfeld.Available only to 7L friends, doesn’t the lounge and correspondence program reinforce the link between culture and privilege?
When I took over this place, I had a double order to open it and to protect it. In order not to abuse it, to preserve the desire, we must cultivate the intimate, the exception, which implies rules, precise rituals. Because having a salon is truly welcome in someone’s home, Karl, whose mind floats without nostalgia.
Source: Le Figaro
