Alexandra Senes and Oliver Pilcher capture the most cinematic destination in the world through the eyes of city locals themselves.
How does one write about Paris … a city that eludes capture at every turn? This was the insurmountable task before Alexandra Senes who provides the text for Paris Chic, a book published by Assouline. Together with photographer Oliver Pilcher, she offers readers a glimpse into the fabled city through stories from Parisians themselves— a term Senes herself finds amusing. “[It’s] absurd really … [for] Parisians are rarely from Paris,” she says.
“Paris has inspired the entire world,” Senes writes. Filmmakers, photographers and writers have proven the city to be truly inexhaustible. Thus, their approach has become much simpler than intended. The duo explored less-travelled paths and sought to capture the quiet daily moments of Parisian life. “The approach was a generous and smiling town opposite of a cranky and rude Parisien image we can sometimes have,” she adds. “So, going inside homes of Parisien, living their lives while the photographer steals a minute of their vie Parisienne.”
Senes is a citizen of the world. Born in Senegal, she became a journalist, a path that took her to New York and then Paris. And as the founder and editor-in-chief of Jalouse Magazine, she is no stranger to capturing and exploring eclectic style and glamour on glossy pages. Likewise, Scottish photographer Oliver Pilcher has been shooting many of the world’s finest brands. Having been a contributing photographer at Condé Nast Traveller for over ten years, Pilcher has also travelled the world as well.
For Paris Chic, the pair explored the French capital with seemingly no rhyme or reason—it was all about the experience and getting to know the people. They biked around the capital to discover its character without the pressure of speed and traffic. “We roved, going with the flow, taking our time, walking across the city where the Place de l’Étoile looks out over different worlds,” notes Senes. “For this book, our geography has been primarily emotional,” she adds.
Pilcher’s photographs exude this emotionality—unscripted, effortless, in medias res—to capture Paris in a nutshell. Is it perhaps because he is seeing the city with all the wonderment of a first-time visitor? “Oliver is from Scotland and lives between Costa Rica and NY,” Senes shares. “He did not know Paris at all. He had come only once as an assistant photographer and had stayed in the studio all day without seeing the city. So, I took him around the entire city! It was amazing to see him happy and [for] me [to] be a tourist again in my town.”
