The 50th anniversary of the “Mohanjeet” store in Paris

At the end of September 2021, Mohanjeet Grewal celebrated the 50th anniversary of his eponymous shop “Mohanjeet», 21 rue St Sulpice in the 6th arrondissement of Paris, as well as its 91 years.To celebrate this event, an evening prepared by Véronique Arts, longtime friend of Mohanjeet, in collaboration with the services of the Embassy of India in Paris, took place on December 3, 2021, as part of the residenceof the Ambassador of India to Paris.

Véronique Polès, luxury consultant, fashion and lifestyle, based in Bombay, worked for India and France to pay tribute to Mohanjeet for her career and contribution in the Indian textile and Indian fashion sector in France.She shares with you some moments of this evening and makes you discover this unique figure of India in Paris.

Mohanjeet in France: 50 years of fullness

In September 2021, a few days before the anniversary of the St Sulpice store, Mohanjeet, humble and sensitive, which has never lost its journalistic verve, wrote in these terms:

"Me, I find myself in front of something inconceivable...

On September 30, 2021, I have been there for 50 years, rue St Sulpice, to the address of an old laundromat bought just before the twelve strokes of midnight, to a woman, the deportee n ° 52.

In this street, which at the time was doomed to the 2nd largest church in Paris, which is why the main activities were dedicated to the images of Christ and Marie-Madeleine, as well as to the making of the outfits for the nuns ofQuartier, me, a foreign woman, almost barefoot, I put the mess in the order of this serene street, almost sacred, by installing a shop where we came to buy “exotic» items, while drinking darjeeling, sitting on big cushions on the ground!

Catherine Deneuve and Marcello Mastroianni were among the first to come, after their first visit, became regulars, followed by other celebrities in the cinema sector, and those of other sectors from all over the world.

The street then exploded, with the arrival of major brands that have settled, then disappeared ... More than 10 times these installations/disappearances have followed one another in this street ... but "Mohanjeet" is still there ...

A small but strong left bank resistance!

"Mohanjeet" is on St Sulpice Street, what Hermès is in the Faubourg St Honoré.»

Mohanjeet, an influencer before time

Quelques silhouettes signées “Mohanjeet» accueillaient les invités à leur arrivée, de l’escalier jusqu’au majestueux salon de réception.

To tell the story of Mohanjeet is to tell an extraordinary course, to the thousand anecdotes for this Indian woman, free, emancipated, determined and courageous, who lived her life in her terms, not hesitating to drop thisWho could have been his career (journalism) to be "boutiquière", as his friend, Jean-Raoul Clémentin, great journalist at the Duck chained, nicknamed her..

At birth her first name already destined her for this unique and incredible destiny: Mohanjeet, "the one who conquers love".

His energy and his greatness of heart, to which no one could resist added to his passion for art and culture, naturally led him to live in an incessant whirlwind of exceptional meetings with the greatest of this world among journalists,Novelists, filmmakers, actors, painters, photographers, musicians, designers, politicians ... which she surrounded for projects or for evenings that she had the art of organizing regularly ...

Ainsi, la soirée de célébration du 3 décembre avait gardé ce même esprit : préparée en réunissant autour de Mohanjeet (et dans les limites des protocoles sanitaires) des personnes qui de longue date ont font partie de son univers: des amis proches, des clientes à jamais conquises par le style “Mohanjeet», des galeristes, des amis de la presse économique et politique…

And some surprise guests came to enamel the evening with emotion.Among these, Jean-Yves Lecoq, mayor of the 6th arrondissement, for 27 years.

Had also responded to this event, the TV and Radio fashion columnist, Sophie Brafman, resolutely under the spell of the Indian designer that she discovered during this evening.

Nathalie Boy and Agnès B., witnesses of the influence of Mohanjeet

The famous designer Nathalie Boy, who founded her brand in 1989 and who is very well known in the fashion world for her commitment to Slow Fashion and for her bias to have never gave in to the diktats of fashion magazines, had heldby its presence to be the spokesperson for French creators, as well as French brands.

Nathalie Garçon a souligné la grande influence de Mohanjeet dans l’histoire de la mode : grande visionnaire, Mohanjeet a lancé dans les années 60/70 le style “bohème chic», qui a habillé le who’s who français et international, de Brigitte Bardot à Jane Fonda ou encore Caroline de Monaco.This style was immediately successful and was a source of inspiration for many creators.

Nathalie Boy, a great admirer of the work of Mohanjeet, referred to all the textile explorations of the designer, who helped to highlight numerous combinations of fabrics and techniques of India, and to her precursful approach to create collectionseco-responsible.

It is Mohanjeet too, who in a global artistic approach, has chosen on several occasions, to shake up traditional codes, by associating for the representations of her collections, Indian painters, that she was one of the first to doto know in France, but also Indian musicians.

And finally the talented creator Agnès B., which founded its brand in 1975 and whose vast creative and artistic universe conquered the French market while deploying internationally, had wanted to come and congratulate with great connivance the Indian designer.

Christian Lacroix, s’était excusé pour son absence, en raison de nombreux projets en cours, par ces quelques lignes : « Je ne pourrai être des vôtres pour fêter Madame Mohanjeet Grewal dont je connais bien le travail et le lieu ; je crois même que ma femme était en “Mohanjeet» lorsque nous nous sommes rencontrés en novembre, il y a 48 ans… »

Mohanjeet, a bridge between India and France for 50 years

The ambassador of India to France, Jawed Ashraf, recalled in his speech, how Mohanjeet introduced the colors, the motifs and the beauty of the Indian fabrics in Paris at a time when relations between India and France n'were not as thorough as today.

Jawed Ashraf, India ambassador to France

The mayor of the 6th arrondissement, Jean-Yves Lecoq, praised the success and the longevity of the designer and gave her a medal engraved to her attention and struck by the currency of Paris (Editor's note: little wink of the mayor, theCurrency of Paris is the only industrial establishment in the capital located in the 6th century).

Jean-Yves Lecoq, mayor of the life district

Jawed Ashraf, India ambassador to France

A gift to the guests to mark the 75th anniversary of Franco-Indian friendship

Mohanjeet had wanted to thank the guests by a gift of circumstance, whose concept was like his incomparable creative agility.

This is how she had designed and developed, in memory of this evening and in tribute to her love for Indian textiles and more specifically, the 'khadi', pockets made in this hand -woven fabric, taking up the colorsIndian flag: orange and white weaving with a green satin ribbon.

Attached to each cover, a label recalling the current celebrations: 50 years, for the celebration of its shop and 75 years for the celebrations of Franco-Indian friendship and the independence of India!

The final and attentive touch, signed ‘Mohanjeet’ was inside the cover: a nice red silk scarf for the holiday season.

Find in our article Mohanjeet, the Indian designer who influenced Parisian fashion, through a document composed by Mohanjeet with the help of Julien Nénault (who is also the author of the many recent photos taken in Delhi in 2019), wordsAnd beautiful images to travel to meet Mohanjeet.