Puces Portrait: Françoise & Erwan de Fligué
Meet Falbalas: a flamboyant duo living vintage fashion and carrying forward the independent spirit of the Puces’ 19th-century chiffonniers.
Upstairs in the covered Marché Dauphine, Françoise and Erwan de Fligué’s expansive stand is a space where history, fashion and style intersect. The racks are interspersed with antique mannequins carefully dressed in vintage garments, and each tag indicates the garment’s decade, transforming a browse through the racks into a masterclass in fashion history. Their edit largely stops at the arrival of ready-to-wear, and you can sense their disdain on the bargain rack, where later, or imperfect, pieces are sold at a discount. Every item at Falbalas is hand-selected, restored, and sold at accessible prices, so the hunt – for both collector and dealer – can continue. Erwan is a recognized vintage fashion historian, specialized in the period from 1850 to 1950, and frequently consults for museums and collectors. Always dressed in period costume themselves, they bring fashion history vividly to life.
This edited interview is taken from The Paris Flea Market (Prestel, 2024), a book that draws back the curtain on this remarkable place through encounters with a handful of the dealers at its heart.
