FASHION ‘The windows at Place Vendome are designed to inspire dreams of owning the treasures kept within them and to show the rest of the world what's new in luxury jewelry. Here, the finest of fine jewelry stores in Paris put their wares on display for everyone to see and want. Its within this octagonal plaza that the king's jewelers set up shop, and for hundreds of years, top-notch jewelry companies have joined them, setting up flagship stores here. Tourists, lovers, the wealthy, and those imagining being wealthy are all to be found here, not necessarily entering the quiet, heavily staffed shops, but passing from window to window, lingering on a favorite piece, photographing a favorite collection, dreaming, desiring. And so it is here that the brands invent the most creative window displays, which will be mimicked by luxury retailers worldwide. ‘On view now at Place Vendome is a surprisingly thorough homage to the art of paper-cutting. This medium, al- though familiar to us all as the step after drawing with crayons, has reached elegant heights in window after window on the plaza. In some, the windows are filled with whimsical forms harking on the warmth of the season. Long blades of grass, frogs, vines of leaves, and seaweed fill the windows, creating a diorama of nature for the jewelry to nestle in. ‘At Chanel, the papercuts are more direct, echoing the flower motif of its jewelry and emphasizing the delicacy of the petals by repeating them in white paper. At Van Cleef, a carefully constructed three-dimensional wedding ‘couple of paper stands fully dressed for the occasion (down to the jewelry, of course) next to the engagement rings. ‘Some notable exceptions to this trend can be found in the windows of Dior, which have been filled with all the ac- coutrements of a tea party, petit fours included, and painted a monochromatic white- the better to show off those gi- gantic colored gemstones. This simple, dramatic, and whimsical setting is sure to become a popular idea for dis playing jewelry. And at Boucheron, they are following Louis Vuitton’s lead and presenting everything in front of a dizzying gold-plated pattern of their monogram, by Laura Rysman