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Definitive Design
The best of Paris Design Week 2017
In a surprising display, Syctom will launch its zero-waste design contest, Design Zéro Déchet, and showcase the 13 finalists’ prototypes for creative upcycling. Above, Reset project, seat made with scrap textile by Pauline Caparrus and Pauline Leroy.The nucleus of Paris Design Week is the gigantic five-day Maison & Object trade fair, where more than 3,000 exhibitors come together to showcase the latest in the way of design.
A cozy must-see at the fair is Comfort Zone, designed by François Bernard, founder of forecasting agency Croisements. “No longer just about technology, comfort is now about psychological as well as physical well-being,” he explains. “Today, we want comfort everywhere — at home, but also the office, waiting rooms, airports etc.” The space explores comfort through 12 themes, illustrated through pieces found at the fair like temperature-regulating pillows, connected cocoons and pods that seal us away from technology. We see that comfort also has its own aesthetic that transcends time and trends. Racoon Cowboy Armchair by AP Collection pictured above.
The Rado Star Prize, an annual springboard for new design talent, will be presented during Paris Design Week. This year, designer Julien Manaira won the jury prize with his experimental epoxy resin shelving unit Once Liquid Plastic. A second winner chosen by the public will be announced during PDW.Each year, Maison & Object selects someone to create a space that immerses the public in their world. This year the anointed Designer of the Year is Tristan Auer, one of the creative forces behind the renovation of Paris’ Hôtel de Crillon, as well as trendy nightclub-turned-hotel Les Bains. At M&O, the interior architect has created an elegant retreat where fair-goers can go to catch their breath. As always, Auer has struck the right balance between the classic and the avant-garde. The Salon Chinois at Les Bains Hotel in Paris, designed by Tristan Auer, is pictured above.Outside of the fair, the St.-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood, a home design hotbed, will see its many stores open late each evening to showcase the latest in home design. Among them is Cassina, the Italian furniture brand, who will be celebrating its 90th anniversary with a new monograph, “This Will Be The Place.” The publication analyzes today’s home design trends and offers insight into the future of interiors and what the ideal home may look like.In an unexpected turn, Thalys, a high-speed train operator, is hosting a pop-up exhibition: “Scents of the City.”Incorporating scents from the destinations the company services, the exhibition takes visitors on an olfactory journey across France, inspiring travel and deeper exploration.Car aficionados won’t want to miss the unveiling of Citroën’s second collaboration with French fashion label Courrèges. The new 100% electric Citroën E-Mehari will be unveiled at PDW ahead of the Frankfurt Motor Show. Packed with new-generation features, only 61 of the model will be available worldwide.At the Grand Marché Stalingrad restaurant, 18 designers from the Collectif Made in France en Transparence will show furniture, lighting, and tableware. “There is a void between luxury and mass-market design,” explains the collective’s founder Maud Louvrier-Clerc. “We explore that void through our work by creating beautiful pieces made in France, which respect our values of transparency, sustainability, solidarity, and traceability.”Kwerk, a group of creative co-working spaces, will inaugurate its fourth space, located a mere 15-minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe. Designed by cofounder Albert Angel, the new Kwerk Haussmann emphasizes wellbeing in the workplace through specially designed desks with variable heights and an impressive assortment of 300 types of plants niched under a glass roof.Appearing like an angular, fluorescent caterpillar encroaching on the banks of the Seine, the Jakob + MacFarlane-designed Cité de la Mode et du Design is where trendy Parisians come to party. During PDW, it will welcome the Now! Le Off exhibition, where Ukrainian design will be at the forefront of the celebrations in a show entitled “Transformation.” Pictured: Buffalo stool by Svoya Studio, a Ukrainian firm that will be featured.
