Parisian It Model Aya Jones Shows Us Her Favorite Haunts in the City
Leave it to breakout star
Aya Jones (
@IamAyaJones) to rule the Fashion Week runways with an iron bee-stung pout and a head-turning strut. The Paris-raised stunner has walked almost 40 shows so far this season, scoring coveted spots at
Valentino, Prada, and
Dior, among others. So what’s it like to be back in her very own City of Lights? For starters, it means a warm welcome at her family’s popular restaurant on the Rue de la Forge Royale, which serves up cuisine from her father’s native Ivory Coast; and then a jaunt through the metropolis as its famous landmarks play host to some of the biggest fashion shows. Here, see Jones’s favorite Parisian haunts—as she takes us for a stellar ride through her hometown.

Paris is well known for its bad traffic, so the speediest way between shows and appointments is by motorcycle. It can be a very exciting way to see the city!
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones
Here I am with my parents and brother in front of our restaurant A La Banane Ivoirienne in the Eleventh Arrondisement. We’ve owned it for 25 years and it’s famous for serving the best cuisine of my father’s homeland, the Ivory Coast.
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones

On my way to the Dior show. It’s at the Louvre, one of the most beautiful buildings in Paris, as well as being one of the best museums in the world.
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones
Lunchtime! Make sure to have a croque madame or a croque monsieur while you are here. I’m at La Palette in Saint-Germain; it’s just what you expect a Parisian café to be.
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones

During Fashion Week, some shows, like Paco Rabanne here, take place at L’École des Beaux-Arts, which is one of the most famous art schools in the world in an equally famous building. There are always good exhibitions on view.
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones

On my way to Nina Ricci. Paris has so many good locations for shows. I always like the view of the city from the outside escalator at the Centre Pompidou and from the rooftop.
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones

And . . . look who I ran into after the Nina Ricci show!
Photo: Courtesy of Aya Jones