Victoire: Part of the reason we love to travel so much is to get to go to other small independent boutiques and be inspired by their displays. Sometimes it’s a shop display, sometimes it’s a grocery store display, sometimes it’s a gallery exhibit. But I think something that influenced Katie and I alot was how the shop Lola & Emily in Mtl (they’re closed now but were open for 10 years and were a huge inspiration to us) merchandised. I think they were the first shop that made us realize that displays and windows don’t have to be about “selling” or like “this week’s featured jeans!” but more a way to express a vibe or a mood or a particular inspiration for that season. They merchandised alot with furniture, they would recreate a bedroom or apartment feel that made the shop feel really intimate, and that inspired us to recreate that intimate vibe at Victoire as well.

Victoire: A few years ago we did a window with balloons, it was beautiful. But we had to take it down because we kept getting calls from our alarm company in the middle of the night about the alarm going off, and we would freak out thinking we had been burglarized, we’re getting dragged out of bed in a panic, but it was just the balloons popping in the middle of the night that was setting off the alarm. We also did a movie-themed window with old VHS & popcorn everywhere, but some people would walk by and think we were a video store (??? as though the SHOP FULL OF DRESSES wasn’t a tip-off), and then ask us if we had these super obscure movies…and we were like “uhhhhh we’re not a video store?”  

Victoire: Inspiration can really come from anywhere! A quick stop at Blumen studio, going to the OAG, even our friend’s apartments can be a source of inspiration. We’ve also got running lists in our phones to write down anytime something inspires us. And Pinterest/Instagram are always great to see what other shops are up to to use that as a jump-off point.