On Thursday evening, Maxime Simoëns celebrated the opening of his first parisian flagship, for his fledgling men’s label, M.X. Maxime Simoëns at 13 rue Vieille du Paris, 4th. Best of the new generation of French actors such as Alain-Fabien Delon, Jules Benchetrit, Rod Paradot, Ernst Umhauer & Theo Cholbi came to the party to celebrate the designer and his brand new « baby». World-pronounced artists Pierre & Gilles, designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac have been spotted there as well enjoying some summer tunes from the superchic French band La Femme.

The paint was barely dry on the walls of the 1,400-square-foot space on 13 Rue Vieille du Temple for the party, which also served to show off his fall collection for the sporty men’s brand, which has chosen to operate on a see-now-by-now model.

Upstairs, the space is designed like a locker room, with slatted wooden benches and glass and concrete features. Stepping downstairs, meanwhile, takes the visitor into a space clad in white tiles to resemble the showers in a gym, right down to the square stools in place.

“It’s a new step in my career as a designer, to have direct access to the customer,” said Simoëns, adding that the brand, now in its second collection, is “doing well.”

He observed, “Designing for men is a completely different exercise. A woman is looking for a particular item of clothing, whereas a man looks for a world, a lifestyle. That’s why I wanted the boutique to be a strong statement.”

The fall collection once again tackled sporting territory, this time mountaineering, in a muted palette built around gray, navy blue and burgundy. Roughly shaped miniature semiprecious stones adorned a burgundy shirt. Another featured an allover print with topographic map.