Mark Tungate reports for mad-blog.com from Paris

For an industry that traffics in trends, the fashion business is surprisingly old-fashioned. Its preferred methods of promoting its wares are the same as they were in the 1950s: glossy magazines and fashion shows. The latter are looking increasingly outmoded, especially as they often require willowy models to fly thousands of miles, leaving a carbon footprint bigger than the dresses they will be wearing on the catwalk.

But change is afoot on the Paris fashion scene. During the recent autumn/winter fashion shows, most of the action happened in showrooms. Clothes were examined by appointment. Some designers even chose to make videos of their collections.

The biggest event happened away from the catwalks, however, with the opening of a shop called Merci. Actually, this large space in the Marais district is more like an indoor market. Bernard and Marie-France Cohen, founders of successful children’s wear brand Bonpoint, are behind the retail experiment. The concept is simple: all the store’s profits after overheads are donated to a children’s charity in Madagascar. The couple made their fortune from kids and now they want to give something back. That’s why the store called “Merci”, you see?

This is no tatty charity outlet, though. Everything about the store is thoughtful and elegant. A café and second hand bookstore on one side of a quaint courtyard welcome visitors. Opposite are a florist and a corner devoted to perfumer Annick Goutal, where customers can refill their existing flacons for 40% off the usual retail price.

The real attraction, of course, is the fashion. Alongside vintage items, several luxury brands have agreed to design pieces and even entire collections exclusively for the store. They include Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney and Maison Martin Margiela. And as everyone has waived profits, the items are much less expensive than they would be in the designers’ flagship outlets.

There are even whispers that designers have donated “personal items” to the selection of second hand and antique objects on sale upstairs.

Shop and feel good about it – what could be more now?

TBWA\EUROPE has put together a worldwide overview on Disruptions in retail, to learn more about the recent publication please email Caroline McGinn.