The French created fashion, but it's been an awfully long time since they've had any possession of it.
Paris, once the cradle of Western culture, lost its status over the past century as young upstarts like New York came along and stripped it away.
It is reassuring then, that Eleven Paris is here to ease our fears.
As the name suggests, it's a Parisian brand.
But it's about as far removed from any French typecast you might dream up as it could possibly be.
They have made their name not by rejecting but embracing the contenders from New York and in doing this, they have shaped some of the coolest designs currently available on the market.
These are styles that could have come from any town on the planet, but they could only have come from one designer, and that's Eleven Paris.
The best way to talk about a designer like this one is to take specific examples: So follow me as I take you on a guided tour of Paris's freshest fashion house.
We can't talk about Eleven Paris without talking about their stencilled t shirts.
They have a range of these, but there are themes common to all of them all of them: Blonde women, rave colours and a great sense of humour.
The first of these is a t-shit depicting the Blondie frontwoman and new wave icon Deborah Harry.
The high-contrast stencilling renders her hair a flaming yellow, and this is accentuated beautifully by thick, black spectacles.
A stunning design.
The next stencil carries a picture of Angelina Jolie, whose hair has been cheekily coloured a fluorescent blonde.
This juxtaposition of the brunette celebrity, painted in a bright, slapdash style makes for an enduring picture that will stick in people's minds long after they've seen it.
Amongst the other Eleven Paris stencils are a Kate Moss design and a rather rude little design showing HRH the Queen covering up her face like a bandit.
These are shirts for those people who like something that makes a statement, and likes to give others something to laugh about.
These shirts are definitely a talking point.
Perhaps, however, you're worried that sporting these tees are a bit of a show-off.
They're not for the meek, that's for sure! It's lucky then that Eleven Paris have produced an altenative range of plain 'big V' tees.
These basic-level tees come in cyan, grey, navy, white and magenta.
If you prefer something with a little more pizzazz, they also offer two-level tees in grey, white and purple.
Finally, we should talk about checked shirts they have on offer.
Now, most labels seem to be offering variations on the checked shirt nowadays, so it takes something special to stand out from the crowd.
Luckily, Eleven Paris have just that up their sleeve.
What they have done is taken the classic mould of the checked shirt and - rather than going for the American country style that most labels go for - have infused it with dazzling colours.
Pinks, purples, reds and bright greens penetrate the fabric, weaving a shirt that makes people do a double take.
With their audacious new ranges, Eleven Paris have made France shocking again.
And we've had a long wait since the revolution.