Obsessed with design, I'm always on the lookout for beautiful things that inspire me. Haute couture fashion week may be the highlight of the Paris' January event schedule, but for design buffs like me, Maison & Objet is the best place to be in. With over 3000 exhibitors, the most important international design and decoration events in the calendar, the show means that I see a lot of new products and emerging trends.
INSPIRATION SPACEThis season, the theme of Maison & Objet was "WILD". The "Inspiration Space" by Francois Bernard took the me on a stroll way off beaten paths. This enlightened meandering went from untamed to sacred and from natural to super natural through the creations of artists and designers who explored these wild dimensions.
According to François Bernard, who designed the Inspiration Space at Maison & Objet, 'Wild' is based on the desire for the restoration of our relationship with the nature. He says "More than ever, nature appears as a symbol of vitality faced with a hyper-technological world that dematerialises reality and artificially transforms what is alive".
Designer of the Year for Janurary 2016 - Eugeni QuitlletEugeni creates bestselling objects between drawings and sculptures, mastering fullness and voids to reveal elegant silhouettes hidden in the material. He approaches each object and material by sentiments. He treats plastic like a precious material.
"Because it has no defects! It can be a virtuous material if we treat it that way. We've used it inefficiently with banal garbage bags or disposable shopping bags. Instead, I use plastic as a support for beauty." - says the Catalan designer Eugeni Quitllet.
Materials & ShapesThe most popular material continues to be wood followed by glass, metal, leather & stone. But what was more interesting to see was the use of concrete, ceramic, metal and plastic. Also were some unexpected combinations.
Origami-style folds are appearing on everything.
Special minerals like selenite and agates were very popular this show. But marble proved to be a strong interior trend for 2016.The trend was conspicuous earlier too during the Maison et Objet 2015, September edition. What indeed is interesting was the new and advanced technologies that have raised the number of ways in which designers created and applied shapes using marble.
I loved the mix of topics and variety of exhibitors featured at the show and have come back refreshed and full of ideas for my interior styling.
I hope you enjoyed the above as much as I did. I will be bringing the Maison & Objet 2016 lighting, colour and design highlights shortly.