In 2015, Figaro Japon celebrated its 25th anniversary. It has already been planning anniversary projects since last year. When I asked Editor-in-Chief Nishimura what the 25th anniversary means, he replied, "First of all, I wanted to go back to our roots. To do that, I wanted to share with our readers the feeling that 'I was born in Paris at heart!' that has been subtly hidden in the pages of Figaro Japon since its launch." The keywords that came along with it were "pretentious Parisian," "lover of Paris," and "Parisian optimist (who loves beautiful things and delicious food)." These are phrases that are surely tucked into the hearts of a certain percentage of Japanese women. "When Figaro Japon was first published, Paris was still far away. If you wanted to experience the city in Tokyo, all you had to do was go to Fob Co-op in Hiroo and buy a Duralex glass, and you'd feel like you were in Paris. If you even went to Paris, you'd take home everything from candy wrappers to the newspaper the florist wrapped it in and treasure it," Editor-in-Chief Nishimura reminisces. "Paris" is one of the key content areas for the 25th anniversary year, so it's all about Paris. After reading Mariko Yamauchi's novel "It's Boring Here, Pick Me Up," Nishimura was inspired by the serialized novel "I've Never Been to Paris." Starting with the October 2013 issue, she began a series of short stories in which women of different ages and occupations who have never been to Paris talk about their experiences there (the series has already been published as a book by CCC Media House). In addition, a project is calling for Instagram posts with the hashtag figaro25, imagining "My Paris." Editor-in-Chief Nishimura said he was moved by the number of submissions, realizing that each person has an image of "Paris" even if they don't say it out loud.

Times have changed, and young women today no longer yearn for overseas destinations. They're accustomed to a system where everything is available in the virtual world of the Internet. They search online to find out everything there is to know about Paris, and have even traveled there many times just in their imaginations. It was clear to see that the desire to have these women experience the "Paris" proposed by Figaro Japon was conveyed to them.

I began to think that the "Paris" that Editor-in-Chief Nishimura was referring to might actually refer to the "longing," "curiosity," and "sparkling maiden heart" that lies in women's hearts. A similar feeling to that of "Paris" is also hidden in the word "mode." Perhaps that's why "mode" is so hard to give up.