‘Just the right amount of edge’: how Marseille became 2024’s on-trend city

Thanks to buzzy cafes and the backing of Chanel’s fashion supremos, France’s oldest city is having its moment

When a place becomes a meme, you know it is having a moment. This is what is happening to Marseille, which found its name plastered on a satirical Instagram account this week. “‘Mate was finkin’ of goin’ Marseille? Apparently it’s poppin’ off!?’,” read the caption on the viral Socks House Meeting fashion account that satirises the absurdities of trends, usually with an eye to London’s cultural niches but with a foothold in wider British internet humour.

It was accompanied by a picture of the type of lifestyle and fashion staples that a certain kind of traveller might enjoy while in the southern French city, including a skinny Vogue cigarette, on-trend wraparound sunglasses and a bottle of Terre d’Hermès eau de toilette.