Night-Scented

Place François Premier was one of the better-kept secrets of the eighth arrondissement. Hiding inside the triangle formed by the constant traffic of cours Albert along the right bank of the Seine, the tourist bustle around the Grand and Petit Palais and the clicking of designer heels on avenue Montaigne, it saw few cars and fewer pedestrians. One of the stately buildings that stood on the circular place had seen the creation of Ephémère as a fledging fashion house in the 1920s.