A Chance Encounter: House of Papillon

A surfeit of smoke dances off the end of her cigarette as she takes a sip of her latte; she is patiently awaiting my arrival. As I approach her, Janet Muradian seems to be just another young American woman living carefree in the City of Light as she sits on the terrace of a café in the bustling Marais quarter, the world going by in the reflection of her Ray Bans and a mass of shopping bags occupying the seat that that she nonchalantly vacates when she sees me walk up. I order myself a tea and, after manoeuvring around the tourists and businesspeople spilling out of the café onto the sublimely picturesque Place des Vosges, can't help but think to myself that the age-old aphorism sure does ring true; appearances are deceptive. This is the third time I've met Janet Muradian, but I'll get back to that later.

The first, and perhaps most interesting, of our encounters occurred several weeks previously. Walking home, lost in my thoughts, my attention is drawn to a young woman laughing into her phone. Her gaze locks with mine and until she abruptly ends her phonecall and makes towards me, I think nothing of it. “Excuse me, are you by any chance a blogger?” she asks tentatively. When I confirm that I am indeed RJ (of Mode RJ), she tells me that she has been aware of my blog for several weeks now and that she is the CEO and Creative Director of American - and soon-to-be international - bowtie brand, House of Papillon. Humbled to have been recognised for Mode RJ, especially by someone of Janet Muradian's stature, I'm a little speechless to say the least but manage to maintain the small talk. She offers me a drink and we spend the next hour or so discussing everything from bowties to bloggers to the Surrealists and their reverence of the ‘chance encounter'. We raise our glasses, toast to our very own ‘chance encounter' and with the sharp clink of glass on glass, the foundations of our journey together are set in motion.

Our second crossing, although perhaps less impressive but equally as serendipitous, was at Vogue Fashion Night Out. Having arrived late and weather proving counter-productive, I make to head home; a difficult task when every Vogue reader in Paris has turned up to sample free champagne, mingle among fashion's finest and apparently barricade every road between me and my apartment. It is I who notices her this time and I quickly signal her attention. We chat for a moment and comment on the chances of another chance encounter. The weather conditions being as they were, this was our briefest meeting, but we both agreed that the fact that our paths have crossed twice in a matter of days in a city brimming with people is a sign that we should perhaps work together.

From Vogue to Vosges, our story returns to the Marais, our first and only organised encounter to date. And I take full advantage to find out as much as possible about Janet Muradian and House of Papillon. Unsuprisingly, my time with Janet Muradian is limited as building an international brand isn't done from café terraces. However, right before the young and exceptional CEO of House of Papillon turns to leave, she hands me what could quite possibly be the most impressive gift I have received since Mode RJ began; a bag full of bowties. It was as if I died and went to bowtie heaven.