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The Czech Republic has the third-largest Vietnamese diaspora in Europe, only behind Germany and France. In fact, the Vietnamese make up the third-largest ethnic minority in the country after Slovaks and Ukrainians. Now, this community is buzzing about its chance to be represented and make its presence felt on the silver screen. After all, Tuesday, July 8, marks the world premiere of Dužan Duong’s Summer School, 2001 in the Special Screenings program of the 59th edition of the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF).

Or as KVIFF put it: “The long-awaited first Czech-Viet feature is finally here! This authentic portrayal of a community that has become an organic part of modern Czech history is brought to us courtesy of Dužan Duong, a standout, exceptionally talented representative of the first Vietnamese generation to grow up in the Czech Republic.”

Here is a synopsis of the movie: “The third millennium has hardly begun, and 17-year-old Kien with his crazy red hair returns to his family and their market stall in Cheb after 10 years spent in Vietnam. However, instead of the warm welcome he had anticipated, he finds an estranged father, a careworn mother, and a younger brother who doesn’t cut him any slack.”

Prague-based Duong, 34, wrote the screenplay for his feature directorial debut with Jan Smutný and Lukáš Kokeš. Duong and Kokeš are the producers of the movie. Its cast includes Đoàn Hoàng Anh, Lê Quỳnh Lan, Tô Tiến Tài, Bùi Thế Duong, Ngô Xuân Thắng, and Nguyễn Dũng.

“Told with lightness and wit, this story about cross-generational conflict and much else besides is an affectionate and bold milestone in the debate on cultural identity,” the KVIFF website touts.

Ahead of the world premiere of Summer School, 2001, Duong talked to THR about the inspiration for the film, showcasing the Vietnamese experience in the Czech Republic to a wider audience, pulling double duty in Karlovy Vary by also pitching an anime series idea, and what else he wants to do next.

Can you maybe share your family’s story and how your parents came to the Czech Republic?

My parents met in Germany during the Cold War. They were sent from Vietnam to Germany to work. They met in a factory. And they conceived me there. When that era ended, they had to go back to Vietnam. So I was born in Vietnam. After three, four years, we went from Vietnam to the Czech Republic. And this is the story of most of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. We have similar paths.

In Summer School, 2001, a young man returns to his family in the Czech Republic after years back in Vietnam. Can you talk about the role identity plays in the film?

When I was just a small kid, my parents had to go to this marketplace to earn money, because they had some debts in Vietnam. Because we went from Vietnam to the Czech Republic, they had to loan some money. So I had to grow up with a Czech nanny and Czech granddad, actually, and they were my substitute parents for a very long time. My parents had to work a lot during my childhood. So I was growing up with this old Czech couple. They made me the Czech person I am.

They taught me the culture and everything. That’s the reason I feel somehow split in my personality – being Czech or Vietnamese. It’s very hard to be Vietnamese when you don’t get to meet your parents in everyday situations and spend most of your time with Czech people. So that’s the first step in my story about this broken relationship with one’s parents.

The members of the family in the film seem to experience this mix of emotions, including duty, respect, and love. Talk a bit about the many layers of these relationships in the film and how you approached them.

To be honest, it’s just my family and many other Vietnamese families packed into one film. We like to call it “auto-fiction,” because it all comes from the real world of the Vietnamese community in the Czech Republic. So most of it is based on reality. But we added some drama for the film.

Can I ask how difficult it was to finance the film?

It actually wasn’t that hard, because we have a production company, and we specialize in shorts and commercials. So we had a base of people and didn’t need that much of money. We could rely on a lot of people with good intentions and good hearts who wanted to make this, I would say, milestone in Czech cinema. This kind of Vietnamese film from the Czech Republic has never been done before. So we were very lucky to be at the beginning of what will hopefully be this new wave.

What feedback have you received from the Vietnamese community in the country before people have even seen the film? What do they think of the idea that there will be a feature about their experience?

Oh, they love it. I really feel such huge support from the community. It’s not usual for a debut film to be hyped this much. The power of community! The film hasn’t premiered yet, so I’m quite nervous about it. I don’t want to make anybody unhappy when they finish watching the film. The stakes are high for us.

Will your family see the movie?

Yeah, most of my family will see it for the first time, wow. And I’m really looking forward to seeing their faces. In our family, and in general in Vietnamese families, communication is not the biggest thing. Our Vietnamese parents don’t know the Czech language that well. So this film is a way for me to tell them everything I’ve been through in my whole life. And I noticed during the shoot that many aspects of the film happen to be universal, because many young people from the cast were going through similar problems.

Dužan Duong, Courtesy of KVIFF

How long did you work on the movie?

It was really encouraging for me to finish the film after eight years. We were in the writing room for quite a while – five, six years. And once we got the first funding, I didn’t want to wait for anything. I went all in and persuaded the other producers that we needed to make it now, because I found a good cast, and its members were growing up. So if we had been waiting for another year, I would have had to find other actors.

Who are the people in the cast? Are they professional actors, and how did you find them?

The young boy in the family is from my neighborhood. I’ve known him since he was little. His family runs the grocery store right down from my apartment. He was always this communicative young boy who wanted to have fun. He reminded me of me a little bit, so I thought I’m going to cast him. I just went by heart. I didn’t want to have many options. Once I felt he was the right person, I went for him.

Most of the actors are first-time actors. I like to work this way. I’m always looking for someone who is authentic and who doesn’t need to “act.” He just needs to be reminded of his own traumas or his story. And he just needs to act it out in front of the camera.

Was there any particularly big challenge in making this movie?

To be honest, the biggest challenge was in the editing room. We made quite a big chunk of it happen in the editing room. Because non-professional actors don’t care if they look good on camera, we had some unique takes and had to find and put together the right material. We’ve been in the editing room for almost 13 months. It was quite painful, but I wouldn’t change that.

The three men in the family each get a chapter in the film. The mother doesn’t have her own chapter, but she is still always there. Can you explain that decision and the role of the mother?

For me, it’s a story about how to be a man, looking for manhood. And these guys are wild. Every one of them is wild. The only person who is somehow calm is the mother. She is the calm force trying to make sense of the mess that is happening. So she’s very important to the story. I wanted to keep this masculine point of view, but I used the female energy to make sense of it.

Tell me about your production company and the other key production firm on the film…

AZN kru is my production company. I run it with my wife. So, it’s a little family business. We’ve been doing commercials and everything, and now we are transitioning to features and fiction, and we want to make a splash in the Czech Republic. The other company is my friend’s and is called nutprodukce. They’re well established in the Czech Republic, so we can use their credit to get funding. All the creativity came from our side, including the Vietnamese aspect. And they provided the perfect dramaturgy and the know-how to fund a low-budget film. We brought the know-how of Vietnamese people, how to save money, and still have the production value.

Where did you shoot?

My biggest dream was to shoot it in Cheb, the town where I grew up, near the border with Germany. But our budget didn’t allow that. So we had to fake everything in Prague. When you see Netflix and Amazon shooting these big TV shows in Prague, they can fake it. So we can fake it as well. We just faked the small town and shot 23 days in Prague and Slovakia and five days in Vietnam.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention about Summer School, 2001?

In the film, Kien is sent back to Vietnam by his parents and then is reunited with them after 10 years. I would highlight that this is a very common thing in Vietnamese immigrant culture. That’s the way parents have the time and their hands free to work.

During the shooting process, I realized that this idea of sending kids away was weird for Czech people. But for the Vietnamese people, it’s a common thing. It also happened to me when I was young, like 5 or 6 years old. But I was lucky that my Czech nanny somehow persuaded my father to bring me back after a couple of months.

You are not only premiering your first feature at the festival, but also pitching Lost Boys, an anime series that you are working on, again via AZN and nutprodukce. You are pitching that in the KVIFF Talents program. Congratulations on having the energy to present two projects in Karlovy Vary! And what can you share about Lost Boys and its inspiration?

The work ethic, I think, I inherited from my parents, because I don’t like to just stand still and do nothing. This is my next project. I have a little sister who is 18 years younger. She’s Gen Z, and I would say I’m a millennial. And I noticed that these kids are so reliant on technology and social media, and it’s consuming them. I think it’s the biggest problem for this generation, being stuck in technology. They don’t know what the offline world is. They only know the online.

Lost Boys is the story of a girl who’s trying to find her escape or exit from this matrix. She finds a group of boys who get into fights. They like to feel the realness of the fights. And she wants to join them, but they don’t accept her, because she’s a girl. “We accept only boys, because we are the Lost Boys.” And so she changes her outfit, and she becomes a boy. She becomes Kenny and wants to join the group so she can finally be happy and feel something. I would say it’s like Fight Club for Gen Z.

Lauryn Hill played to a largely empty stadium on Friday night as part of the 2025 Essence Festival of Culture, after taking the stage hours after scheduled.

While Hill has a bit of a reputation for late shows, this time it appeared out of her hands as Essence’s first day as a whole started late on Friday. Hill had been added to the lineup days prior — with the rest of Friday’s lineup including GloRilla, the Isley Brothers, Babyface and Maxwell. Coco Jones, who also stars on the Peacock show Bel-Air, was an unannounced performer. Singer Lucky Daye and Kandi Burruss’ girl group, Psiryn, were also early performers.

GloRilla ended her set when The Isley Brothers had been scheduled to end theirs, forcing the group to start at Babyface’s original time. After the Isleys’ hour, Babyface didn’t start until after midnight, with the the 19-time Grammy winner digging into his substantial songwriting catalogue delivering renditions of hits that included Bobby Brown (“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Every Little Step I Take”), Boys II Men (“I’ll Make Love to You,” “End of the Road”), TLC (“Baby-Baby-Baby,” “Red Light Special”), The Whispers (“Rock Steady”) and Toni Braxton (“Another Sad Love Song,” “Love Shoulda Brought You Home” from the film Boomerang).

Maxwell began performing mere minutes before 1 a.m. After delivering several of his hits from his debut album, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, the “Fortunate” singer cut his set short. Not long after Maxwell’s exit, Kenny Burns, an Essence Festival emcee, announced that Hill was in the building. As multiple workers took the stage to change the setup for the beloved star’s performance, time kept ticking away. Even as the stage appeared equipped for a performance, the delay continued. Technical difficulties were only announced about five to 10 minutes before Hill was announced to be finally coming to the stage.

“Family is family and around here we protect our own no matter what the PEOPLE have to say,” Essence Festival wrote in a statement on Instagram Sunday. “She arrived on schedule,” the fest continued, taking responsibility for the delay and defending Hill. “Let’s be very clear— WE don’t play about Ms. Lauryn Hill. She stepped on that stage, and delivered the kind of performance only a legend can. The delay? Not hers. We will take that. The moment? One for the books. The legacy? Still unmatched.”

While some fans were giving her grief online over the late start, several others came to her defense.

Or, let’s post what actually happened.

It’s very easy to get Lauryn Hill trending with false narratives.

Let’s provide the facts. The entire festival was pushed back.

This was literally not her fault.

Me on the other hand, I would have gone home. Contract or not. Bye. https://t.co/F5JUeXUbQv

— ERIC LAMONT (@EricUnedited) July 5, 2025

Fans who stuck around for Hill’s performance got a treat. A robust band of more than 10 members played as Black history montages filled the background screens. Hill emerged in a blue polka dot full-length dress wearing a gele atop her head and a low-hanging statement necklace showcasing what appeared to be fertility figurines.

While Hill rarely performs songs as arranged on her critically acclaimed The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, the sped-up versions she typically opts for live landed exceptionally well. Her rendition of “Ex-Factor” packed an emotional punch. So did “To Zion.”

Hill’s voice was fierce and clear as she subtly recounted the pressures she faced within the music industry not to carry her first child. “Essence Festival — 27, 28 years ago, I sang that song about this young man right here. I need you to make some noise for Zion Marley. Come on!” she commanded.

After Zion performed a couple of songs, Hill resumed in extremely personable fashion. She later brought out another of her sons, YG Marley, and demanded the audience give him a proper greeting. He rewarded them with a robust but brief performance of reggae songs like his hit “Marching to Freedom,” reminiscent in tone of those of his iconic grandfather Bob Marley. Hill returned after his performance with even more force, delivering an impassioned rendition of “Killing Me Softly With His Song” in tribute to Roberta Flack, as photographs of the iconic singer who died in February flashed behind her.

Asking for permission to do one more song, Hill issued a request to the crowd, declaring that “I need y’all to get low, come on,” before asking for the Fugees fans in the venue and performing their hit “Fu-Gee-La,” amazingly high-spirited as she rhymed furiously and only making the song truly recognizable with the “Fu-la-la” chorus.

“Thank you. Good night y’all. God bless you,” Hill said as she ended the show in the early morning. It was arguably one of her best performances in recent memory, and she delivered it as if the house was packed, even as only the very faithful few remained.

Pick of the week
Mistresses

Jameela Jamil and Dr Kate Lister host this podcast dedicated to the untold tales behind “history’s so-called sidechicks”, with interludes from TikTok’s History Gossip, AKA Katie Kennedy. If you prefer a more strait-laced approach then this isn’t the show for you: it’s a tongue-in-cheek riot, kicking off with Louis XIV’s paramour Madame de Montespan, and her fall from grace via a poisoning scandal. Hannah J Davies
Audible, all episodes out now

Trapped History

“People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them,” said James Baldwin. This podcast aims to tease out those often unspoken histories, and is now on its fifth series. It begins with a frank conversation with broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake on the work of human rights campaigner Helen Bamber. HJD
Widely available, episodes weekly

Shadow World: The Grave Robbers

In this troubling series, journalist Sue Mitchell – who has previously investigated power of attorney arrangements for the Shadow World series – meets families who have had their inheritances pilfered by gangs using fake wills. Stealing from strangers’ estates is, it seems, the tip of the iceberg for the criminals running such scams. HJD
BBC Sounds, first episode out now, then weekly from Wednesday 9 July

The Making of a Fugitive

It isn’t heartstoppingly tense true crime, but if you’re interested in the psychology of why criminals do the things they do, then BBC Radio Wales’s podcast will likely appeal (Richard Harrington narrates). Why go on the run? And how bad is it, really? As one former conman attests, “the truth is – it was really awesome”. HJD
BBC Sounds, episodes weekly

State of Terror

Twenty years ago this week, fear and panic rippled across London, and the UK at large, following four suicide bombings in the capital. This new series sees the BBC’s Dominic Casciani consider how 7/7 changed the face of counterterrorism – and how it must change once again to keep up with developing threats. HJD
Monday 7 July, 11am, Radio 4

PA Media

PA Media

Paris is hopping with new boutiques, restaurants and exhibitions. Here’s a curation of those for this couture season.

Where to Shop

Rubirosa’s, the latest project by Paris-based jewelry designer Lauren Rubinski, isn’t about gold and gemstones. Her ancestor Ludovic Élazar Rubinski was a French merchant specialized in cotton and cashmere, who supplied the poplin used for ecclesiastic shirts in the Vatican. These inspired the upscale range of smart pajamas, crisp shirts and buttery moccasins that she is now offering in a slip of a boutique appointed like a curio cabinet.

Online diamond retailer 77 Diamonds is opening its latest by-appointment showroom on Place Vendôme so that jewelry lovers can stop by to create bespoke diamond-set baubles. It’s a major stepping stone as the 20-year-old company headquartered in London gears up to expand across Europe and the Middle East.

It’s not just the doors of its first formal flagship that French heritage leather goods brand Létrange is opening on Place Vendôme. Chairman Sébastien Létrange, the seventh generation of the founding family, has decided to follow up its retail apartment adventure with another offbeat idea: opening fine vintages drawn from the family wine cellar. And of course, the range of striking bags inspired by his adventurous and enterprising ancestors are given pride of place in this 1,650-square-foot ground-floor space.

Ghanaian American designer Kwame Adusei has opened his second standalone store in the Marais, following his flagship in Beverly Hills. Known for his modern take on African design cues, Adusei creates sharp yet generous cuts in cropped blazers, moto jackets and trousers, and is already a celebrity favorite worn by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Kylie Jenner and Ciara. Adusei is committed to sustainability, using deadstock materials and producing in his own 15-person workshop in Los Angeles, with much of the collection made-to-order, thus avoiding overproduction. The Paris store reflects Adusei’s ethos: the 820-square-foot space is filled with antiques he sourced from the Saint-Ouen flea market and sits above an atelier for tailoring and customization, and promotes his slow-fashion principles.

Barcelona-based jewelry brand MAM has opened its first standalone store outside of Spain with an immersive, art-infused space centered around an installation called “The Sanctuary of Gaia.” MAM’s sustainable, sculptural and genderless designs are meant to be wearable art and are laid out exhibit-style in the space that encourages a sensory experience. Earthy, undulating earrings and bracelets range from 150 euros to 550 euros, while intricate headpieces hit the top range at 2,500 euros. All of MAM’s works are handcrafted at their ateliers in Barcelona. The brand, founded in 2014 by Jordi Enrique Albert and Anthya Tirado, is on the cusp of global expansion with their next outpost slated to open in Mexico City this fall.

French footwear brand Jacques Solovière has opened its second boutique in Paris. A minimalist space housed behind a classic Haussmannian façade, the boutique features light and natural materials, with matte textures and custom-designed modern furniture, such as half-moon seating and an out-of-this world light installation, creating a calm, soothing cocoon. The brand, started in 2014 by Alexia Aubert, specializes in refined, Italian-made footwear like loafers, slippers and derbies on display in the 800-square-foot space. The brand’s signature Edouard Lug returns in two new shades: Odissea Navy and Crema Grained. Store visits are available by appointment only. — Lily Templeton and Rhonda Richford

Rubirosa’s, 7 Rue de Grenelle, 75007

77 Diamonds, 10 Place Vendôme, 75001

Létrange, 4 Rue de la Paix, 75001

Kwame Adusei, 15 Rue du Vertbois, 75003

MAM, 30 Rue de Sévigné, 75004

Jacques Solovière, 3 Rue Molière, 75001

Where to Eat

Already in high demand, Le Grand Café is the Grand Palais’ 320-seat brasserie tucked on the stone terrasse in a 6,000-square-foot space that was once home to the institution’s archive, on the Champs-Elysées side. Under the 8-meter ceiling, interior architect Joseph Dirand used warm tones nodding to the building’s original features and flooring — where velvet banquettes define alcove-like tables. Monumental, aged mirrors reflect the Petit Palais, so no one misses out even seated away from the windows. The menu offers a chiseled take on French brasserie food. A must-try is the Comté-and-truffles soufflé, but you won’t be disappointed by turbot quenelles, salmon and sorrel or arch-classic peppercorn beef fillet. Don’t forget the Colin Field-signed cocktails at the bar — and the live jazz band at 8 p.m. every evening. 

Neo-bistro Kimono is a nod to the Japanese community that turned Paris’ Montparnasse area into its home in the 1920s. The star here is the Futosoba, a house creation that is the love child between thick-cut udon and the fragrant buckwheat soba. The restaurant had a traditional Japanese mill specially made to craft its own flour and uses a specialized machine replicating traditional kneading methods to prepare its noodles fresh and ready to be served hot, cold or as a salad.

Air France is landing a new edition of its pop-up restaurant on the rooftop of Galeries Lafayette Haussmann for the summer months. Dubbed “Le Restaurant,” the spot will offer an experience centered around the airline’s business class service, with dishes signed by triple Michelin-starred chef Régis Marcon, who drew inspiration from nature and particularly that of the central-southern region of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes he hails from. And don’t miss the desserts by Nina Métayer, the first woman to be named World’s Best pastry chef in 2023.

It’s a bit of schlep to get to Thaddeus Ropac’s outpost in Pantin, a northeast suburb of Paris. But now, in addition to sprawling blue-chip art displays in a vast former foundry, an excellent caprese salad also awaits, or a plate of San Daniele. Last month, the Austrian art dealer christened Café Bleu, which can host more than 40 lunch guests on its colorful wicker chairs and comfy brown banquettes. It was realized by Pierre Pelegry, artistic director of Maxim’s and founder of Ligne Blanche, which produces porcelain tableware, scented candles and table linens in collaboration with the foundations of Andy Warhol, Jean-Michel Basquiat and others.

The art-bedecked Limoges porcelain gives a sense of place to Café Bleu, especially since Ligne Blanche also works with living artists including Georg Baselitz, whose massive paintings of himself and his wife Elke are on display in Pantin until July 26.

The café is set in a separate, cottage-like building and it feels a bit like an escape with its rustic colors, tile floors and cozy atmosphere. “The idea is to do simple food with the best ingredients,” said Pelegry, who has kept Maxim’s roaring for nearly 30 years.

For now, all lunch dishes are cold, but well-priced and tasty, like the sliced salmon and avocado salad for 16 euros. The eatery is also open for breakfast and afternoon tea. — L.T.  and Miles Socha

Le Grand Café, 1 Place Clémenceau, 75008
Tel.: +33 1 85 09 40 50

Kimono, 66 Rue du Cherche-Midi, 75006
Tel.: +33 1 42 22 32 15

Air France, On the terrasse of Galeries Lafayette Paris Haussmann, through Aug. 20
40 Boulevard Haussmann, 75009
Reservation through the Air France site

Café Bleu, 69 Avenue du Général Leclerc, 93500
Tel.: +33 1 55 89 01 13

Where to Drink

If you had to sum up the American dream of Paris in one address, it would no doubt look like La Renommée. Behind the facade of a former 19th-century grocer, the first address of U.S.-based restaurateur Brendan Sodikoff, of Hogsalt fame, is a cozy bolt hole with art sourced in the city’s flea markets, plush leather banquettes and an enviable menu of French classics with an international twist. Don’t miss the expansive cocktail menu, or the bar downstairs. — L.T.

La Renommée, 95 Rue Saint-Honoré, 75001
Tel.: +33 1 40 39 93 70

Where to Stay

Villa Junot, the first Parisian project of French private-home rental venture Iconic House, is about marrying the charm of a private residence with upscale services befitting a five-star property. Inside this meticulously restored 1920s town house in Montmartre with sweeping views of the Parisian skyline from its rooftop are five en-suite bedrooms, a cathedral-style lounge, a dedicated children’s room, a professional kitchen and a wellness area with a gym, sauna and indoor pool. Design details throughout the property are inspired by the building’s first owner, French operetta writer and composer André Mauprey. Services include a private chef and dedicated concierge, ready to cater to residents’ tastes and desires.

Is it a five-star hotel? Is it offices? Is it a sports club? Is it an art space?  La Fondation is all of the above — and then some. Imagined as a 100,000-square-foot hub in a striking Brutalist building set between Parc Monceau and the Batignolles, it offers 58 keys, including three suites; two restaurants and a rooftop under the direction of executive chef Thomas Rossi, previously at the helm of Mimosa; a sports facility that comes with the latest machines, a climbing wall, a 25-meter pool, a sauna and a hammam, and a spa using French brands Typology and Ho Karan, which specialize in organic de-stressing skin care treatments. — L.T.

Villa Junot by Iconic House, 18 bis Avenue Junot, 75018
Reservations: booking.iconic.house

La Fondation, 40 Rue Legendre, 75017
Tel.: +33 1 78 77 70 00

Where Art Meets Clothes

It was only a matter of time before Jordan Roth, a Broadway producer turned rabid fashion fan, would also turn his hand to design. That moment came shortly after the New Yorker began preparing for “Radical Acts of Unrelenting Beauty,” a performance piece premiering on July 10 at the Louvre during Paris Couture Week.

“It became clear that the clothes and the performance were so inextricably linked — were actually the same — that I have designed the clothes as part of creating the piece,” he told WWD in an emailed interview squeezed between rehearsals in New York.

Roth is the main star, along with six dancers moving to a score by Thomas Roussel, adding up to a spectacle that “sits at the nexus of theater, fashion and art.”

“It uses the language of music, movement, projections, connection and the ritual of dressing to explore the dynamics of identity, beauty and its capacity for self-expression and transformation, all through the fundamental elements of fashion — fabric and emotion,” he said.

The three back-to-back performances coincide with, and reference, a fashion exhibition running at the museum through July 21 titled “Louvre Couture: Art and Fashion — Statement Pieces.”

“The threshold between the exhibition and the performance is the magnificent red Dior haute couture piece by John Galliano that is exhibited in the Napoleon Apartments overlooking the Cour Marley, where the performance will be,” Roth explained. “It is the looking glass through which I and the audience dive into the dream we’ll explore together. You’ll see what I mean.”

The performances are free and open to the public via registration. Roth calls it nothing less than “an invitation to consider the possibility that we are the art, that we are the canvas of ourselves.” — M.S.

“Radical Acts of Unrelenting Beauty,” July 21 between 7 and 9:30 p.m.
Louvre, 99 Rue de Rivoli, 75001

Where to Take in Art

Charles Frederick Worth, who is credited with founding haute couture, is the subject of a retrospective at the Petit Palais museum, the first major retrospective of the English designer in France. It features more than 400 works, including 80 pieces of clothing.

Paul Poiret‘s fashions, which famously freed women from the corset and took many cues from Eastern cultures, have inspired many designers, including Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano and Dries Van Noten. Looks by such creators figure in “Fashion Is a Feast,” the exhibit dedicated to Poiret, at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.

There’s an exhibition featuring Rick Owens’ oeuvre at the Palais Galliera, which exudes many moods, including from couture-like dresses and capes in soaring felt niches to a life-like statue of the designer urinating into a metal trough.

The show at the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris brings together more than 110 works, including paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and ceramics, which reflect Henri Matisse’s view of his daughter Marguerite Duthuit-Matisse.

The Musée Maillol has culled more than 350 photographs by Robert Doisneau, marking the first exhibit of his works in Paris for many years. These include iconic images alongside lesser-known ones.

Ramdane Touhami and Émile Shahidi have just opened The Radical Media Archive, a gallery they describe as a foundation for the preservation of alternative press, graphic publications, revolutionary art and utopian design. Its first exhibition, called “Words Sounds Colors & Shapes,” presents a smidgen of the archive. — Jennifer Weil and M.S.

“Worth: Inventing Haute Couture,” until Sept. 7
Petit Palais, 2 Avenue Winston Churchill, 75008

“Fashion Is a Feast,” until Jan. 11, 2026
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 107 Rue de Rivoli, 75001

“Rick Owens, Temple of Love,” until Jan. 4, 2026
Palais Galliera, 10 Avenue Pierre 1^er de Serbie, 75116

“Matisse and Marguerite,” until Aug. 24
Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, 11 Avenue du Président Wilson, 75116

“Robert Doisneau: Instants Donnés,” until Oct. 12
Musée Maillol, 61 Rue de Grenelle, 75007

“Words Sounds Colors & Shapes,” until Dec. 31
Radical Media Archive, 1 Rue Eugène Spuller, 75003

Where K-beauty Is Rising

The K-beauty wave keeps rising in Paris, with the recent opening of Moida K-Beauty on the Right Bank. There, shelves are stocked with products from the likes of Tirtir, Biodance, Medicube, Nature Republic, Beauty of Joseon and CosRX.

Meanwhile, the BHV department store’s “Korean Wave” pop-up has as part of its selection beauty from South Korea. Agaskin pulled together eight brands, including Torriden, Axis-y, Urang, Dear and Klairs. Nüd Korean House of Beauty offers treatments for the face and body. And the Mi-rê brand, linking French and Korean savoir-faire, is also offered here. — J.W.

Moida K-Beauty, 17 Rue de Pont Neuf, 75001

“Korean Wave,” until July 13 at the BHV, 52 Rue de Rivoli, 75004

Where to Sweat

For the Reformer Pilates devotees out there, Kore is the spot to know. One of its two locations is on Rue Réaumur, a stone’s throw away from the Opéra area. With a 12-place studio and a separate space for private coaching, its focus is 50-minute high-intensity, low-impact workout sessions — nearly sweat-free but highly effective — targeting the upper body and abs on a specially developed machine.

Pressed for time? With Spark Club, a first-of-its-kind concept in Paris of fitness done in an infrared chamber, you won’t have any more excuses. This spot is all about getting your blood pumping in little more than 15 minutes doing yoga, Pilates, cycling or on an indoor rower. Group sessions are limited to three people. — L.T.

Kore, 103 Rue Réaumur, 75002
Reservations: kore-studio.com

Spark Club, 8 Rue Bellini, 75116
Tel.: +33 1 59 13 35 10