Is this Paris' most design-focused holiday shop?

Shop weird and wonderful design and fashion at this playful, postmodern exhibition from Item Idem, where commerce, culture and humour intersect

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Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'
(Image credit: Tara Ullman)

Paris-based design lovers, take note: Item Idem, the French conceptual artist and collector otherwise known as Cyril Duval, is launching ‘The Holiday Market’ on Wednesday 26 November 2025. Located at 12 rue Bleue, the exhibition takes the form of an eccentric Christmas market blending art, design, rare editions and unexpected objects.

The exhibition’s window display is a playful dialogue between high and low art: Philippe Starck’s iconic garden gnomes created for Kartell sit alongside Paul McCarthy’s inflatable Brancusi Tree, whose suggestive form is imagined here as a Christmas tree.

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

(Image credit: Maxime Ballesteros)

Inside, browse and buy designs that showcase Duval’s postmodern sensibility: highlights include a monumental, colourful wardrobe by Alessandro Guerriero of Studio Alchimia; pieces from Olivetti's Synthesis 45 line, a modular furniture system by Ettore Sottsass, founder of the Memphis Group; and other Memphis Group pieces by Martine Bedin and Peter Shire.

Also featured are editions by conceptual artist Lawrence Weiner, furniture by Pierre Colleu for Starform, works by contemporary artist-designer Nik Kosmas, mirrors and editions by Superstudio, and additional 1980s Starck pieces. Brimming with collectible and iconic works, ‘The Holiday Market’ is a veritable feast for modern design enthusiasts.

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

(Image credit: Tara Ullman)

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

(Image credit: Tara Ullman)

In this space, Duval – who calls himself a ‘cartographer of pop culture volatility in the TikTok era’ – welcomes visitors into what he describes as a ‘polyphonic world’ and an ‘experiment in cultural and recreational retail’. The exhibition is staged with subtle irony: set in a former Auchan supermarket, a worn ‘click-and-collect’ sign hangs on the door, reflecting an art world increasingly driven by commerce. The works on display are presented as Shanzhai objects – imitations or knock-offs of well-known brands – with Duval calling the show the ‘yin to the Shanzhai Biennial’s yang’. The setup playfully implies that art can be picked up as easily as milk or eggs, poking fun at traditional art-market conventions.

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

Paul McCarthy's Brancusi Tree

(Image credit: Paul McCarthy)

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

A Philippe Starck garden gnome for Kartell

(Image credit: Philippe Starck)

‘Item Idem’ (a pun on the Latin phrase meaning ‘the same thing’) refers to both Duval’s pseudonym and his online store – which sells items like Barbara Kruger’s Performa 17 pop-up hoodies and T-shirts and MSCHF’s infamous red boot. The artist’s installations are experiments in late-stage capitalism – Yukio Mishima portraits coexisting with Karl Lagerfeld Be@rbricks – creating a world where high art collides with pop culture irreverence.

Item Idem paris exhibition, 'the holiday market'

Pierre Colleu "Mickey Mouse" Chest of Drawers

(Image credit: Pierre Colleu)

'The Holiday Market' is open from November 26 until late February 2026 at Item Idem, 12 rue Bleue, 75009 Paris

12:00 - 20:00, closed on Wednesdays and Sundays

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Anna Solomon
Digital Writer

Anna Solomon is Wallpaper’s digital staff writer, working across all of Wallpaper.com’s core pillars. She has a special interest in interiors and curates the weekly spotlight series, The Inside Story. Before joining the team at the start of 2025, she was senior editor at Luxury London Magazine and Luxurylondon.co.uk, where she covered all things lifestyle.