Maison & Objet
A non-objective overview
Copyright Vladimir Kagan, February 1, 2012
A huge complex of seven exhibition halls make up the Maison & Objet Home and Fashion Showcase at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre. I am certain that what I did not see, could fill a book… I saw only a fraction!.... But for what it’s worth, here is my report:
Maison & Objet is a home furnishing Fun Fair, filled with irresistible objects for the home from ceramics, to glass, to textiles, window treatments, decorative pillows, jewelry, fashion accessories, real flowers, fake flowers, gourmet teas, topless models promoting marble…. You name it; you can get it at Maison…. And there are the lugubrious furniture exhibits, recognizable by their size and opulence. My show was located in Hall 7 where most of the major furniture companies were housed… I never had a chance to leave the building, every time I tried, I was called back to greet a client or press person.
My exhibit, Vladimir Kagan New York, was one of a trilogy sponsored by the Italian manufacturer Club House Italia. The display was an impressive 200 square meters, but I was dwarfed by my sister exhibits of Kenzo with 800 square meters and Fendi a full 1000 meters.
A frontal view of my space featuring one of the three animation projections
To put the finishing touches on my space, I arrived the night before to cast my Magic Wand over what had already been accomplished. My Italian design team did an amazing job; there was little I could do but scatter a few crumbs on what already was a perfect exhibit. The crowning feature of my show was the amazing animations of my sketches, sketches which I kept Emailing from the USA, (not quite knowing what to expect). They were mesmerizing!* Three partition walls served as the screens for this ever changing display of cartoon-like, animation display of my sketches. Truly worthy of an Oscar in the Animation Category in next month’s Hollywood extravaganza.
*(The word Mesmerize comes from an 18th century German hypnotist Dr. Franz Anton Mesmer, who performed feats of amazements for his audience.)
In my gallery display, we succeeded in showing 25 designs ranging from my classic Serpentine Sofa, Barrel Chair, sculptured coffee table and the newly re-introduced sling dining chair and table - all dating from the late 40s into the 50s.
A full view of my exhibit with the every changing animated wall projections
Two new dining tables from the 50's featuring sensuously sculpted rims and leg details together with my very polular Sling Dining Chair suspended in a carved walnut frame
My favorite illuminated Buffet in satin lustre Rosewood designed in the late 60s. The Candelabras are from my original store in 1948. In the foreground is the cushion version of my iconic Serpentine Sofa.
A juxstra position of the newe and old: the Barrel Chair from 1947 with two elements of the new Nantucket Section Sofa grouping 2011
The familiar Serpentine Sofa paired with its High-back cushion cousin
A small vignette showing the floor height mirror with the La Ronde Swivel Love Seat and some Kagan lamps
The show introduced three architecturally inspired cabinets, a cantilevered glass and wood dining table, a wood and Plexiglas coffee table, a Cubist Club and Dining chairs were also shown. These designs date from the 60’s and 70s.
We also re-introduced lamps, candelabras and a standing mirror, all adopted from designs first seen in my shop on East 65th Street in New York in 1948. There were four new elegant Kagan Rugs hand-woven in Thailand especially for this exhibit. And to bring my designs into the 21st Century, a curvaceous sectional sofa grouping, that was the hit of the show, was designed this past Fall.
The furniture was set off by highly polished black marble and white walls. The cloud-like effect of the ceiling mirrored the curvilinear spirit of my designs. Comments on the space were most flattering and it stood in contrast to the magnificently decorated room-settings of my sister companies.
KENZO
Kenzo hit it just right with a brilliant distillation of the Japanese esthetic into furniture scaled for a western room. The colors are exquisite and the trademark Kenzo prints were a refreshing touch in an all black environment.
FENDI
Fendi is all about glamour and opulence. You could sense the flow of wealth in everything from the textiles, luscious rugs, sensuous finishes, attention to details from table settings, chandeliers, lamps and accessories. The moment one steps into this forbidden space, (no one gets in without an invitation) you are encapsulated in luxury.
I barely had time to tour our own pavilion #7 but managed to find a few exhibits that caught my eye.
At the entrance in the public space, was an inspired piece of installation Art, created entirely out of corrugated cardboard.
Chinoiserie with an amazing twist: Francis Chen, a Taiwanese entrepreneur partnered with Jean Boggio, a French designer, to weave a dream spirit of Chinese culture into a uniquely inspired non-western indium.
For sheer simplicity, I found a small cubicle of space BY DAHA dedicated to a display of a simple wood block serving as end tables and various forms of totems… very refreshing.
Roche Bobois played to its high-tech audience with a fascinating expandable glass dining table called Echoes that featured an exposed “bank-vault” mechanism with moving gears that pulled the table apart and inserted a glass table leaf at each end. (Their website was too sophisticated for me to be able to cribbage a photo of the table… may be you can?)
Missoni was always Erica's favorite... you cannot beat them for color!
Ralph Lauren was predictably in his own comfort-zone…. Nothing earthshaking but cozy stuff to relax in and enjoy a cigar. Everyone can feel like a millionaire.
The textile stands in our building were too many to describe, but all had exquisite quality fabrics and hangings for the decorators that visit the show.
I cannot resist showing you my favorite marble display! It took an artis two hours per day to body-paint each of the three models to blend into the color of the marble.
On the visitor side, there were the usual scattering of American manufacturers and designers, slyly looking for new innovation and inspiration.
See ya next at the Milan Fair in April!
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