Being a dedicated Maison Objet and Paris Design Week fan and attendee for years I am always thrilled to see what new and noteworthy designs and trends emerge during this iconic global design event.
This year’s September edition of the fair embodied a renewed focus on sustainability with designers launching products using recycled and innovative materials with a continued emphasis on craft. A few trending elements also emerged with a visible shift away from soft and curvy lines in furniture design with the use of sharp, straight lines marking the return of geometric design. Another visible shift was the return of bold colour and pattern, with many designers moving away from the muted tones seen in recent years.
Paris Design Week, which has been serving as more of a ‘fringe event’ during the trade fair for the past 15 years, proved to be less so with a record-breaking audience of 250,000 visitors and more than 500 designers showcasing their work in their natural environment with Parisian design districts serving as the perfect backdrop.
Even though I was not fortunate enough to pop over to Paris and attend this year I am grateful that I can still take part from afar and share a few of the many new and exciting releases that caught my eye as I scoured social media platforms during the event.
Material beauty
French designer Hugo Charlet’s Pixa chair embodies the interchange between contemporary design and recycling in such an elevated and unique way. Constructed using simple planks from offcuts collected during furniture manufacturing arranged in a unique and innovative way becomes the sole design component for this bold yet minimalist seat. This rustic and robust design made for outdoor use captures the hidden beauty in everyday materials while challenging our relationship with recycling and consumption.
Good on paper
Craft meets design in this beautifully hand sculpted Invider Mom table lamp by Henri Dejeant, with its soft organic contours created with a “molding up” process using papier-mâché from recycled paper, vegetable flour and plaster of Paris. The collection also features two smaller editions with similar shapes called the Sista and Papa that adds to their playful, unique and almost creature-like characteristics.
Sounds of silence
The Swedes continue to amaze with Transparent, the award-winning audio pioneer’s latest release of the minimalist turntable to complement their existing range of super sleek and swoon-worthy speakers. Tapping into the younger generations’ cry for nostalgia their collection is not only beautiful but designed to serve the user with a modular design that can seamlessly integrate with other sound components. As with their speakers the Transparent Turntable boasts a modular design that allows for easy disassembly and future upgrades and replacement of components. This unique and smart approach also promotes longevity and aligns with their mission to reduce electronic waste while adding an uber-styling design element to your home.
For the love of art
Malabar, a Porto based artisanal furniture design brand’s latest Future Classics collection breaks all the rules and practicalities when it comes to conventional furniture design. The Bru Tel Dining chair with its magnificently distorted geometric shapes certainly challenges and reimagines the classic dining chair experience and also serves as the perfect avant-garde statement piece. Another beautiful new addition to this collection would have to be the La Vie Console where art meets function with a fully functional console that also serves as a statement art piece that captures Fauvism, one of the first modernist art movement so accurately.
When in Rome
French design house Ibride has always been known for their uniquely whimsical design ethos with Roma, their latest collection in collaboration with Belgian designer Frederik Delbart being another beautiful example. Inspired by an exploration of Romes iconic ancient monuments this unique reinterpretation the Colisée Coffee table derives inspiration from the monumental amphitheater with the arcades reimagined in a lattice formation in an openwork technique made in light solid oak with a high-density Fenix laminate tabletop. The collection also includes Massimo, an elegant, elongated console inspired by the Circus Maximus, the ancient hippodrome of the Palatine with its unique characteristics that embodies the sophistication Ibride design house is known for.
For more information visit maison-objet.com/en/paris
