At Paris Fashion Week, founders Guillaume Steinmetz, Anaïs Lafarge, and Romain Joste reminisce on the venture’s beginning
Today marks the 10-year anniversary of The Broken Arm, a definitive hub for style in the Marais and a gathering point for industry and non-industry creatives alike. With its carefully-curated garments, literature, and artworks, the Parisian boutique continues to foster a sense of community built around a shared spirit of radical, uncompromising taste.
In town for Men’s Fashion Week, Document caught up with the shop’s founding power team. Guillaume Steinmetz, Anaïs Lafarge, and Romain Joste reminisce on the venture’s beginning, iconic events hosted over their years, and keeping their taste radical and personal.
Colin Boyle: Can you take me back to how the shop came to be?
Guillaume Steinmetz: At first, we started an online magazine together—fashion was mostly the subject, but we also [covered] architecture, art, and music. We did that [for] a few years, and then [had] the idea to open a real place.
Colin: And did you stop the magazine when you opened the store?
Guillaume: Yes we did. When we did the magazine, we were [a team of] eight. So it was just too hard to manage [both].
Colin: Have the aesthetics, and the brands and publications that you’ve worked with mostly stayed consistent since you started, or have things changed?
Romain Joste: We started with the brands that we really loved at [the time]. There was a long period [where we] met with brands, discovered things in the showrooms, and thought, This could be perfect. And after we had one or two brands, it became easier to get the third.
Guillaume: It’s like a second house for us. So, the place [evolves] as our tastes evolve. We started 10 years ago, so we are not the same 10 years [later].
Anaïs Lafarge: As a brand evolves, as the designer changes, some brands we stop [carrying], and some new ones are [introduced].
Guillaume: It’s common in shops if something doesn’t sell, they have to [replace it with] things that sell. It’s never like that here. Of course, sometimes it’s hard, but we prefer to be radical.
Anaïs: We are not good with compromises!
Colin: But it’s more than just brands, you have publications, objects, art. It’s more of a place to curate a lifestyle.
Roman: It’s a question [of] inspiration. The magazines are really important for that, the books, the music—it’s a spirit, an experience we wanted for the client.
“It’s common in shops if something doesn’t sell, they have to [replace it with] things that sell. It’s never like that here. Of course, sometimes it’s hard, but we prefer to be radical.”
Colin: When you first opened the space, did you intend for it to become such a hub for the community as well?
Anaïs: We are not from Paris. We are from different towns in Provence, and in that kind of place, there is only one store that gathers the brands of the moment—it was like a gathering place for friends. So, I think we’ve grown up with that idea. It was not like a goal, but maybe a wish.
Colin: Do you have a favorite moment or event that happened in the store, something that made you excited about what you do?
Roman: There’s a lot in 10 years. We wanted to have inspiration, to [make it so] people can meet in the store, that’s why we have the coffee [shop]. It’s always a good moment.
Guillaume: One, in particular, was the event we did with Prada and Olvier [Rizzo] and Willy [Vandepierre], because it was the beginning of Prada in the store, which was a dream to have.
Anaïs: Even at the beginning, [one of] the first events we made, we did with [Simon Porte] Jacquemus, who, at the time, was a very young designer. It was simple, personal, but with really good energy. Each event is always done our way.
Roman: It’s never [done] with a production team. We always do everything ourselves.
“The kind of experience that we can offer people who can come by is really quite simple: Our entire team is not [made of] professional salespeople. It’s just people with passion, with personality.”
Colin: What are your goals for the next 10 years?
Guillaume: I think the first goal is to continue to evolve and make the store in the same line as how we are. It’s the most important thing to continue to find this line—[to follow] what makes us happy is when we find a new designer or new brand we love, when we do a new display or window. This is what makes us not look at our watch every hour to know when [the day is] finished.
Colin: In person, people want to have an experience when they shop. How do you make that happen in the space here? Do you approach online in the same way?
Roman: It’s like preparing a good party and [selecting] the right track, and thinking, This one will be perfect. And we wanted to have this thing online not to give a perfect window into the store.
Anaïs: The physical experience was very important to us since the beginning. It was really important that we wanted a place coming from having an entirely online magazine, we wanted a place to meet people. The kind of experience that we can offer people who can come by is really quite simple: Our entire team is not [made of] professional salespeople. It’s just people with passion, with personality.
