We were given the name, and with a name like that, the image that immediately came to mind was that of a seaside bistrot or one set on the square of a small port town on the Côte d’Azur. Along with it came the quintessential image of a French woman in a striped sailor-style top, perhaps wearing a scarf or a red beret.
Sometimes the evocative power of a name is the key to the entire design: it is capable of telling a story, of suggesting a scene. A young woman sitting at a table, asking for un vermouth rouge, s’il vous plaît, and an attentive garçon who replies—or perhaps thinks—Oh là là!
