At the end of this month, I will be charging out to buy Egoïste. The vast magazine should be easy to spot. Evoking a chivalrous knight sporting armour and lance, it will eclipse most other publications with its black and white format and heavy
At the end of this month, I will be charging out to buy Egoïste. The vast magazine should be easy to spot. Evoking a chivalrous knight sporting armour and lance, it will eclipse most other publications with its black and white format and heavy satiny paper. A month ago, I tried to prise details out of Nicole Wisniak – Egoïste’s creator and owner. But she was very “pas possible Cherie” firm insisting that the contents were an “atomic secret” and that I would have to wait, like everyone else. Pretty vexing for a nosy parker like myself but I quickly accepted the situation. Partly, out of respect – it has taken her four years to complete the latest issue. And partly because Nicole transformed my Parisian existence by offering that, when speaking French, a British accent equals chic – “it’s charming and very Jane Birkin-like,” she advised – as well as introducing me to Le Duc restaurant.
Our Duc lunch was in 1994. Nervous, I arrived early at the dimly lit ‘power broker’ establishment to find Nicole, already installed. Wrapped in a Fendi coat, she resembled an enchantress with her cloud of auburn hair, determined nose and chained charms, dangling around her neck. “You must try the sea bass,” she said with customary enthusiasm. And a plate covered with petal-like pieces of raw fish was swiftly produced. Butter-like, the first morsel melted in my mouth. Then I bit into a pink peppercorn lightly exciting my taste buds. Seventeen years later, that Duc experience continues to linger: setting impossibly high standards for the future. Nicole warned as much. “Once you’ve eaten here,” she said. “Well, all other fish places rather pale.” Alas, they do. Of course, the same could be said about Egoïste – its incredible images, in-depth interviews and bespoke advertisements.
Egoïste is on sale on Saturday 30 April. Le Duc is located at 243 Boulevard Raspail, 75014 Paris.
Natasha Fraser-Cavassoni is a Paris-based British journalist who covers fashion and lifestyle as well as being the author of Sam Spiegel - The Biography of A Hollywood Legend, Understanding Chic, an essay from the Paris Was Ours anthology and soon-to-be released Chanel book, for Assouline's fashion series.
Robert Beck is former New Yorker currently based in Paris. Also known as C.J. Rabbitt, he is the author and illustrator of several children's books, including The Tale of Rabbitt in Paradis, Un Lapin à Paris and the soon-to-be-published A Bunny in the Ballet.
