Maison & Objet exhibition in Paris

THE MAIN distinguishing feature of Parisian exhibitions (and the one that took place two weeks ago was no exception) is their complete omnivorousness. Everyone here finds what they are looking for. If you like Louis and gilding - you will have Louis, if you are interested in futurism - and it will be found, if you miss the 1970s - that’s also not a problem. Trying to snatch general trends from this chaos is a lost cause. And why are they, in essence? Since they said in Paris that everything is fashionable, that means it is so. True, there are some subtleties here. Of course, everything is fashionable, but to varying degrees. For example, there is an indispensable pavilion at the exhibition called Ethnic chic. It is clear that from year to year Moroccan lamps, Balinese furniture lined with mother-of-pearl, striped skins and other ethnic items are shown here - in more or less original form. But no one seriously claims that ethnicity is in fashion. The French adore it, buy it in large quantities, but, in essence, do not force it on anyone. Or part of the L`espace exhibition. Under this vague name hide various craftsmen, or, in modern terms, artists. And these are not some old-fashioned carpenters and potters. You won’t see anything from them - they’ll assemble a lamp from TV parts, or they’ll make curtains from wires. It’s interesting, but it also has little to do with trends. It is possible that soon some of them will be invited to work for well-known brands, but for now this will happen. Actually, Maison & Objet consists entirely of parts, the specifics of which are defined and about which everything is clear in advance. Very convenient for the public. Like in a supermarket - everyone follows their usual route and finds what they came for. True, just like in a supermarket, people here like to suddenly switch things up, but this doesn’t happen often. But there are three pavilions at the exhibition, where everyone is sure to look. All the major brands are exhibited there, and it is understood that this is where trends are created.

The main attraction of the January exhibition is the Editeurs pavilion of fabrics and wallpapers, which in September gives way to some kind of vague hodgepodge. Why it is called that way and why interior fabrics are shown separately, and not in the Textile pavilion (which ultimately houses bed linen), I still don’t understand. Anyway. The main thing is that this is the most beautiful and rich pavilion of the exhibition. The trend of dressing up, which came to fabrics and wallpapers a few years ago, seems to have reached its apogee. It’s simply impossible to imagine anything brighter, more luxurious and more spectacular (although we’ll see in a year). Designers even forgot about their favorite rule: simple natural fabrics in cool tones suit summer. The current spring-summer collections are simply exploding with colors, like fruit in a juice advertisement. Typical summer colors - gray, blue, cream, sand - have practically evaporated. It seems that turquoise has been declared the main color of the next season. Which, in general, is quite in the tradition of summer fashion, if it weren’t so rich and if designers didn’t combine it with other colors. The most innocent combination is with olive or lemon. The most unconventional thing is a thick mixture of turquoise with purple, raspberry and lemon. Turquoise is followed by colors that are more common in winter collections: purple, eggplant, plum, burgundy, raspberry. However, why be surprised if they are already in charge of clothes, accessories and even furniture. Calmer but rich colors of precious and semi-precious metals, also considered typically winter, are also actively present in the collections: gold, silver, platinum, bronze, copper. Shiny, iridescent, with many nuances - such fabrics glow like a pile of treasures in a pirate's chest. Only fabrics in silver-steel shades look cool. Maybe the designers received information that the summer would be cold and decided to prepare us? Not only metallic shades are popular, but also metal itself. Every third stand features mesh or chain mail fabrics using metal threads. We have already seen this in the assortment during the high-tech fashion period, but in the new version the fabrics are reminiscent of the Middle Ages rather than the future. Designers no longer use metallic threads to create a wrinkled effect; they now like heavily flowing fabrics. As for the ornaments, they are varied. Very few smooth plain fabrics. As in clothing, the technique of degrading is fashionable in interior textiles - rich, saturated colors transform, shimmering, into one another, creating the effect of a play of light. There is nothing to even say about flowers, they are always there. True, this season the designers have somewhat changed the typical summer simple flowers, preferring two other options - sophisticated embroidered flowers or classic stylized floral patterns. There were also many geometric patterns in the style of the 1950s–1970s. The most popular option is textured velvet and velor. Some brands that have chosen calmer tones have had fun with textures - they offer pleating, perforation, and crinkled fabrics (the Baumann collection is especially interesting).

Another important pavilion, Scenes d'interieur, is always present at the exhibition - both in January and September. This is its drawback: few people honestly prepare new items twice, so most often in September you can see collections already familiar from January. Like everything else at Maison & Objet, the pavilion is arranged very logically - furniture, accessories, dishes and many unclassifiable things are mixed here (perfumes for the home, fireplaces, etc.). Brands - from giants like Flamant, Baxter, JNL to “individual entrepreneurs”. Of course, local fashion has little in common with textile trends. Although in some ways they overlap. For example, designers did not escape the powerful influence of turquoise - it was it that caught the eye the most. There is also a noticeable craze for metal, but it is more subtle than a few years ago, when literally everything was made from it. Firstly, even those who use metal itself now work not with solid material, but with threads or rings, weaving them into things of various shapes (for example, this is how the entire Le Labo collection is structured). The items are lighter, more elegant and feminine. Secondly, warm copper was added to the cold steel, which has a completely different mood. And finally, most often the “metal” is wood, plastic, leather, etc., painted in the appropriate color. Which, of course, is not news, but a stable trend.

Pavilion Now! design a vivre stands apart - in every sense of the word. If in other pavilions classics predominate, then here there is none at all. Here they show modern design, or rather, those brands that are usually classified as such. This one doesn’t “marry” in any way with the other two main pavilions - it’s obvious that these are just different design paths that almost never intersect. Now! is something of a Parisian answer to the London 100% Design exhibition. And he exactly repeated its fate: most of the pavilion is occupied by adult, more or less progressive brands like Zanotta, Ligne Roset, Magis, Tacchini, Artifort, Molteni & C, Horm, while the smaller part is crowded with young people. For both, Paris is something like a stopover between London and Milan (or two Milans). Big brands present a certain mixture of last year's new products with prototypes prepared for the future of Milan; young people, accordingly, still travel everywhere with the same things.

Yulia Peshkova

Kommersant (Ekaterinburg) No. 30 from 02.22.2008

Authors:

Yulia Peshkova

General design collection