La Madrague

Les points-clés en français au bas de l'article

A quick post on an innovative format imagined by La Petite Maison (LPM) as part of the launch of its brand-new Abu Dhabi-based bar experience – a cocktail menu designed as a vintage French editorial magazine.

Déjà Vu, subtitled “The Golden Era of the French Riviera”, takes you back to “the joie de vivre of the golden decades from the fifties to the nineties,” through “the clink of ice in crystal, the purr of vintage sports cars, the laughter echoing from villa parties that lasted until dawn.”

An immersive journey into the golden age of the Côte d'Azur

Think Port of Saint-Tropez, Brigitte Bardot, Jane Birkin, Alain Delon – and of course the iconic gendarme Cruchot! – vintage cars packed with yéyé aficionados, glamorous women in stunning bathing suits and jewelry dancing on the beach, sipping cocktails by the pool and basking in the sun without a care in the world, racing cars, all enhanced by the retro film grain texture of the footage and photos.

Naturally, this sun-soaked visual territory feels especially timely in the summer – echoing the spirit of brands such as Le Rub and Vacation, which also play on retro aesthetics and celebrate sun exposure as an indulgent experience – and in a place like Abu Dhabi but it also reflects our longing for joy and carefreeness. We are nostalgic for an idealized past, when being carefree was not only stylish but a true way of life.

An uncommon, particularly apt format

Déjà Vu is a 50-page publication structured around three main sections: Fashion, Culture, and Lifestyle, along with a special feature on Brigitte Bardot. Cocktail recipes (around 20) are interspersed throughout the different sections, with a few pages at the back dedicated to crosswords, the horoscope, and the menu list.
In terms of strategy, the vintage magazine format is compelling for several reasons:

• It materializes the idea of time travel: the publication – accessible online but also available in physical form – appears as a relic of the past, a fragment of a golden age still imbued with a distinctive spirit you can hold in your hands.

• Its evocative power lies in an embodied approach: magazines are born from a specific viewpoint and personality. They convey a unique universe through a clear editorial line.
  A noteworthy detail is the foreword, signed by renowned cocktail master Anna Sebastian, designed to look like a hand-written letter folded in four.

• It offers a wide range of possibilities for shaping the universe that brands wish to express and for striking the right tone: the various sections allow for a carefully balanced mix – much like a cocktail recipe – of glamour (Paris Match-inspired vintage shots of Roger Vadim and Annette Stroyberg), culture (a film review of La Piscine), lifestyle (“How to play pétanque – A sport”), and fun (“Are you a Birkin or a Kelly?”, a horoscope matching each sign with a cocktail suggestion).

Déjà Vu is more than a publication – it’s a sensorial experience to be read, sipped, and savored. A tribute to the timeless charm of the Côte d’Azur, where storytelling, aesthetics, and taste converge with a twist of modern flair.

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En français :

• Pour le lancement de son nouveau concept de bar à Abu Dhabi, La Petite Maison (LPM) a imaginé un format innovant pour sa carte des cocktails : un magazine vintage entièrement inspiré de l’âge d’or de la Côte d’Azur
• Des figures incontournables de cette période mythique : BB et Jane Birkin, Alain Delon, les Yéyés et le gendarme de Saint Tropez, du glamour et des femmes qui prennent le soleil tout en sirotant un cocktail au bord de la piscine
• Un imaginaire qui dit beaucoup de la nostalgie actuelle pour une époque idéalisée faite de glamour et d'insouciance qui contraste tellement avec la période actuelle
• Un format inhabituel qui propose un voyage immersif, à la fois sensoriel et fictionnel à travers :
  - un objet physique comme le témoignage d'une époque révolue
  - un point de vue incarné, véhiculé par une ligne éditoriale et un avant-propos manuscrit, signé par une mixologue star
  - un rubriquage permettant de doser les différentes composantes (glamour, fun, culture) et d'aboutir au "cocktail rédactionnel" le plus apte à traduire l'esprit et le ton recherchés