Loic Berardengo, Memory Maker of Paris Nightlife

Exclusive interview with the architect of Paris after dark, Loïc Berardengo

Loic Berardengo does not define Paris nightlife through velvet ropes, bottle service, or the size of a guest list. For him, the work is more emotional. It is about what remains after the music fades.

As the owner of Gabizinha Group, Artistic Direction and PR Manager for Kinugawa and L’Arc Paris, and a patron of the cancer charity Geneticancer, Berardengo operates across hospitality, nightlife, communications, and philanthropy. However, he describes his work in far more personal terms.

“I like to say I’m a creator of memories,” he tells IRK Magazine. “I like to create memories for people.”

It is a simple sentence, but it says almost everything about his approach. Berardengo works across restaurants, clubs, bars, events, hospitality, and artistic direction. Yet he sees all these worlds as connected by one thing: the moment.

“In restaurants, clubs, bars, we create memories,” he says. “People come to spend a good moment. Hopefully, they come to meet their friends, their girlfriends, their boyfriends. Sometimes it is business. However, we create a moment that they should remember.”

That idea gives his work its structure. A night is more than a social event; it is a carefully constructed experience in which sound, light, music, service, crowd and mood all shape the way people feel. Together, those elements determine whether someone simply went out for the evening or actually lived something worth remembering.

From model agent to Paris nightlife insider

Berardengo began far from the official language of hospitality. “I was a model agent a long time ago,” he says. “I was going into clubs and bars very often with models because it was my job.”

Nightlife quickly noticed the effect he had on a room. “They said, ‘You always come with nice people. Why don’t you do that and be paid for that?’” he recalls. “And this is how it started.”

At first, the job was simple. “I started more as a promoter and organiser of parties,” he says. But the deeper he went, the more responsibilities appeared. “When you organise a party, you start to look at the communication, the flyers, the decoration, the music, the lighting.”

That naturally pushed him toward artistic direction. “Step by step, I started into artistic direction because I had to decide every little step of the party,” he explains. “When you want to organise properly a party, you have to decide every step of the party.”

For Berardengo, the lesson was already clear: atmosphere is built piece by piece, long before the first guest walks through the door.

Creating a party versus creating an atmosphere

For Berardengo, creating a party and creating an atmosphere are almost inseparable. “It is pretty much the same,” he says. “The only difference is when you are creating a party, you also have to create partnerships with brands.”

“Creating the atmosphere is mostly before and during,” he explains. “What kind of sound, DJ, decoration, lighting and what kind of clothes people should wear.” These choices become a kind of invisible architecture, shaping the night without guests necessarily noticing how carefully it has been constructed.

This is where nightlife becomes artistic direction. Music, light, clothes and decoration are no longer separate elements. Together, they create the world people step into for a few hours.

What exclusivity means now

Exclusivity has always been part of nightlife, but Berardengo believes its meaning has shifted. “Yes, somehow it is still important,” he says. “But it is less important because now there is more competition and fewer people.”

Scale changes everything. “The bigger your club, the more open you have to be,” he says. “The smaller your club, the bigger your exclusivity.” A 1,000-person venue simply cannot play by the same rules as an intimate room hidden behind an unmarked door.

But exclusivity, for Berardengo, is not simply about refusing people at the entrance. “We still want nice people inside,” he says. “Being well dressed, having a good attitude, smiling, being nice with people, not being rude. This is also exclusivity.”

Perhaps the velvet rope has simply moved. The distinction is no longer only between who is inside and who is outside, but between those who contribute to the atmosphere and those who kill it.

Loic Berardengo’s opinion on luxury brands entering Paris nightlife

Fashion houses increasingly want to become entire worlds, complete with restaurants, cafés, hotels and lifestyle spaces. Berardengo has watched that expansion bring a formidable new kind of competition into hospitality.

“When Armani opens Armani Caffè, the brand name is strong. They take clients,” he says. “When Bulgari opens a hotel, for sure the Four Seasons has fewer clients than before.” Curiosity alone gives these brands an advantage. “When a luxury brand opens a restaurant or hotel, people are curious. They start with a real edge.” Yet despite recognising their commercial power, Berardengo is far from convinced by the strategy.

“I don’t think it is a good idea,” he says. “For me, luxury brands have to stay luxury. They have to stick to their business and not open restaurants or clubs.”

His position is refreshingly uncomplicated. “If I was the owner of Louis Vuitton, I would not open a Louis Vuitton restaurant. I would stick to my bags.” In an era obsessed with turning every label into a lifestyle universe, Berardengo still sees value in knowing exactly what you do best.

Choosing The Right DJ

When it comes to DJs, Berardengo distinguishes between the power of a name and the power of an idea. “DJs, for example, are mostly about talent, music and vibes,” he says.

Sometimes, however, reputation is part of the equation. “We take a DJ with a name because they have a huge network,” he explains. “When you pay a lot of money for a DJ, it is because when you communicate on their name, the place is going to be full.”

An emerging DJ offers a different kind of value. “When you take a young DJ with no name and no network, you take him more because of his energy, his vision, his music,” he says.

The two choices serve different purposes. One can arrive with an audience already waiting. The other can give a night a sound nobody knew they were looking for yet.

When Loic Berardengo considers the biggest change in nightlife, his answer comes quickly. “It changed because of social networks mostly,” he says. “I think it is a pity.”

“Before, people were going out to have fun,” he says. “Now more and more people go out to show where they are. They don’t live the experience anymore. They show the experience.”

He remembers when the phone was functional rather than performative. “When we were going to clubs, we had no phone,” he says. “Or if we had a phone, it was just to meet our people. The phone was in our pocket all night long.”

Those nights demanded participation. People danced, flirted, drank, talked and watched each other rather than their screens. “You look at a table and most of the people are on a phone, close to each other, doing stories all night long,” he says. “They forget one thing. They don’t live the moment.”

The problem, of course, does not stop at the club door. “Sometimes you see a couple and they don’t even talk,” he says. “They are both on the phone. I think, what a pity.”

Berardengo tries to resist the habit himself. “I try as much as possible not to be on my phone,” he says. “I want to live the moment.” At home, the rule is simple: “When we have dinner together, we don’t use our phones.”

His hope for nightlife is equally simple. “I hope we are going into a nightlife where we are able to live the moments again,” he says. “To not take the phone out anymore and to really live moments.”

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Loic Berardengo’s Guide To Paris

For Berardengo, Paris is less an itinerary than a rhythm. His version of the city moves between restaurants, bars, comedy clubs, museums, neighbourhoods and long walks beside the river.

IRK: What is your favourite restaurant in Paris?

Loic Berardengo: My favourite restaurant is Kinugawa. They have the best food. The spot has an Eiffel Tower view, but the food is terrific. If I was not working with them, I would say Kinugawa because, honestly, the food is terrific.

IRK: Where would you go for a drink with a view?

Loic Berardengo: The bar of Kinugawa in front of the Eiffel Tower is pretty cool. You have the Eiffel Tower, great cocktails, and a great view. It is pretty stunning.

You can go for drinks also. It is a great bar with a beautiful view.

IRK: What is your idea of a perfect date night in Paris?

Loic Berardengo: I would pick up more of an area, like Saint-Germain. I would go randomly walking around and say, ” Let’s see where the flow brings us. If I see a cool bar with live music, I stop there. Then I go into another bar, then somewhere else. This is what I like to do in my personal life.

I also enjoy a stand-up comedy club because we like to laugh. Or to see a show like Paradis Latin or Crazy Horse.

IRK: Do you have a favourite comedy club?

Loic Berardengo: “I love comedy clubs. You go, you spend an hour, you see five different artists, and it is very fun. Fridge Comedy Club is one of the comedy spots he goes to.

IRK: Where would you go for street food?

Loic Berardengo: I love Korean street food. I recommend Pocha, a Korean street-food address in Paris. It is amazing. You have to go. It is beautiful.

IRK: Which museum or art space do you return to?

Loic Berardengo: “I like to go to the Fondation Louis Vuitton because they have great exhibitions most of the time. The Grand Palais can also be great depending on the exhibition.

IRK: Do you have a favourite boutique or shop?

Loic Berardengo: I am not into shopping. When I go shopping, I go to a mall. I go to Uniqlo. However, I used to love Colette. Colette was really amazing.

IRK: What are your favourite areas of Paris?

Loic Berardengo: Saint-Germain is cool. I like the vibes, the people, the bars, the drinks, the food. If I have to pick a place to go out, I go there. I also like Le Marais. These are the two places where I like to go.

IRK: Where are you on a Sunday?

Loic Berardengo: I do sports in the morning. Then I take my family out for brunch. Sunday is a quieter ritual, often with family or friends. It could be close to home or in Paris. We pick up a good brunch with friends.”

We like to go to the movies or go back home, play cards, relax, cook a good dessert, and eat well.”

IRK: Where do you go for peace and quiet?

Loic Berardengo: Before, I used to go to the Bois de Boulogne. Now I like to stay close to my place outside Paris. For me, peace is found in nature, away from the rhythm of restaurants, parties, and clubs.

IRK: What should a visitor do if they do not know Paris?

Loic Berardengo: I would say a walk on the Seine. You can walk for a long time and discover a lot of Paris.

The river is one of the best ways to know the city. You are going to see the Louvre, the Grand Palais, Notre-Dame, Île Saint-Louis. Walking by the river is pretty nice. You are going to see a lot of Paris.”

The return of the lived moment

Berardengo’s view of nightlife is not really about returning to the past. It is about recovering something that has been lost along the way: spontaneity, connection and the feeling that a night can still surprise you.

He wants rooms with attitude, where different worlds collide and people look up from their phones long enough to notice one another. “I hope we are going into a nightlife where we are able to live the moments again,” he says.

Perhaps that is why his own definition of what he does feels more precise than any conventional job title. Loic Berardengo is not simply a promoter, organiser or artistic director. He is, in his own words, “a creator of memories.”

And in a city that has mastered the art of being seen, creating something people actually remember may be the rarest luxury of all.