It might come as little surprise that for a recently completed townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Italian-born architect Achille Salvagni was influenced not only by the work of New York native Rosario Candela, but cites Jean-Michel Frank, who designed the now iconic Rockefeller penthouse, as a key source of inspiration. We caught up at his London atelier, to discuss cannibals from Fiji, bespoke London tailoring and the teahouse of Villa Albani.
Paris is often considered the de facto fashion and design capital of the world, with its residents thought of as somehow superior when it comes to their refined aesthetic sensibility. It’s something that, seemingly, still carries a certain cachet, in respect of its ingrained association with innate, rarified good taste. Yet, despite the city’s ton sur ton, classical inclinations, there are an increasing number of up-and-coming designers, looking to follow in the footsteps of Yves Klein, by injecting a dose of colour into its uniform, tree-lined boulevards. As such, we spoke to Uchronia’s Julien Sebban, and artists Nara Lee and David Luraschi, who recently made their first foray into the design world, with a collection of flexible foam furnishings.
We spoke to up-and-coming American interior decorator Casey Kenyon, who, having worked with fashion designer Marc Jacobs, as well as Paul Fortune and Gachot Studios has a somewhat unique take on the world of interiors.
Looking forward in terms of contemporary Swedish interiors, we spoke to up-and-coming ensemblier Niki Rollof, whose work has a refined sensibility and appreciation of the past — typical of a new generation of young Scandinavian designers — about everything from influences and inspirations to the controversial question of whether beige really is boring.
Anne-Sophie Duval first opened her eponymous Art Deco gallery in 1972 on the ground floor of the seventeenth century Hôtel de Châteauneuf on Paris’ stately quai Malaquais. Julie Blum, the current director, and daughter of its late founder, took over in 2008, expertly steering the gallery in a direction that makes it equally relevant to a new generation of decorators and collectors, looking for simpler, less adorned Art Deco works from the pinnacle of twentieth-century artists and ensembliers.
We spoke to childhood friends and, increasingly, bespoke tailors of choice to the worlds of art and fashion, Saman Amel and Dag Granath, who over a long lunch, discussing everything from Dostoevsky to twentieth-century design, explained how their elegantly flared trousers are particularly popular with those less orthodox clients keen to accommodate a natty pair of cowboy boots.
Looking at the ways in which a new generation of designers might approach furniture going forward, we spoke to Aurélien Raymond and Costanza Rossi of Studo Akademos, whose debut collection has been described as the perfect balance between beauty and functionality.
We spoke to French interior designer Leo Sentou about his recently launched furniture collection, that whilst unequivocally modern in appearance, was inspired by the sort of furniture Marie-Antoinette once commissioned for the Palace of Versailles.
With a view to those young designers who are looking further afield for references, we spoke to interior architect Victor Bonnivard who designed the recently opened Belgrand Hotel on the Champs-Elysées, about his passion for largely “unfashionable” nineteenth-century art and design, and how he’s able to combine it with twentieth-century French style so as to create a new/old aesthetic all of his own
We spoke to French photographer Julien Drach (b. 1973), whose series ROMA, recently exhibited at Sotheby’s London, captures perfectly the grandeur, decay and idiosyncrasy of the Eternal City, about his life, work and why a childhood trip on the Orient Express still means so much to him.
We spoke to Laura Kugel of the eponymous Parisiangallery about her upcoming exhibition Tastemakers, in partnership with VillaAlbertine in New York, which offers a unique insight into the luxury market of eighteenth-century France.
We spoke to interior designer Marie-Anne Derville, a Parisian in the truest sense, about her likes, dislikes and why a pair of simple, square glass clip earrings still mean so much to her.
We spoke to Brooklyn based artist and designer Stephen Antonson about his love for the medium of plaster — “a material without weight,” as the existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once described, “the most ductile, the most perishable, the most spiritual to hand” — as well as comparisons to Giacometti and the divide between painting and “design as art”.
We spoke to Elie Massaoutis, Head of Design at Phillips’ Paris about his love, not only for the greats of twentieth century design, and in particular, the work of Jean-Michel Frank, Eileen Gray and Émile Gallé, but also “barbeques” at the Ritz and using Saint Laurent’s tea service.
The luxury market, once more, is responding to true creativity — with a desire for unique “high-jewellery” that can be worn day in day out and not merely left to stagnate, gathering dust in a safe deposit box. For those with a taste for the more refined and less flashy, Maison Auclert’s unconventional offerings might offer a welcome respite to the Van Cleef “Clover” necklaces and Cartier “Nail” bracelets seen year-in-year-out littering the Champs-Élysées
The work of young designers, whilst still an investment, is often a more affordable alternatives to more established talents; and you might even end up with something by someone who one day will end up in the pantheon of the greats, huddled up next to the likes of Eames, Perriand and Wegner. In that vein, we spoke to a talented young furniture designer who (like Picasso, Le Corbusier and Beyoncé) would like to be referred to only by the singular moniker “Hamrei”.
We spoke to Amjad Rauf, International Head of Masterpiece and Private Sales at Christie’s about his passion for eighteenth century furniture and the influence of Instagram on the worlds of art and design.
Jessica Swaffer and her business partner Mike Driver abandoned their careers to design rugs inspired by artist Francis Bacon and the early modernist masters of European design.
Art advisor Samuele Visentin has a clear vision: to showcase thought-provoking, cutting-edge artists, spanning a variety of mediums and presenting a unique artistic point of view.
Carrying on a tradition of luxury in French modernism, Pierre Augustin Rose continue to innovate and create pieces that, whilst remaining elegant and understated pack an aesthetic punch sufficient to entirely transform an interior.
