Saint Laurent Babylone

Hemingway’s and Gertrude Stein’s bookstore, this is not. Far from traditional, the new Saint Laurent Babylone Bibliotheque comprises concrete cell salons displaying old LP records, art magazines and books, along with Saint Laurent-branded novelties like plastic coffee cups and chocolate tablets. The shop—which also bills itself as a host for cultural events, like author readings and DJ sessions—was clearly not designed to appeal to descendants of the literary regulars who once patronized nearby Café Flore. It was created for loyal label groupies and maybe those who are too cool to read at all.