Continuing my report from Paris and Maison & Objet. Just like iSalone the French fair had to adopt to a pandemic version of a design event. The fair was good. Actually really good. Here is the full report, and of course ending the feed here with a grade on a scale from 1 to 5.
The fair attracted almost 1500 brands and 50 000 visitors. You can compare that to Milan and their 60 000 visitors. Just like Milan, the fair ground was minimized. Hall 7 and 8 were closed, and most halls had areas with closed sections.
But lots of people. I spent the opening day of the fair here and everyone was extremely optimistic and positive. Exhibitors and visitors alike. And just like Milan, you were missing a lot of larger brands. Just like Milan didn’t have Vitra, so did Maison & Objet miss Rosenthal, Alessi, etc, etc.
Of course people were wearing face masks, but it was a secure and safe installation.
What I loved
I have been complaining about the lack of news. And in general I can say that I still miss a bit of new things also here in Paris, but what they did was to make a whole section about working from home. Loved that.
Loved the innovative approach to work space at home. See more here.
At the fair is always also a trend exhibition. Nowadays they really don’t touch me as much as they used to. Perhaps it’s because we are kind of tired of trends? They hade invited three trend experts to interpret three themes. Good variety. And my favourite was the one addressing our new love of the outdoor.
Again – the fair was full of energy and fun. People loved to be back. Here Tzachi at Umasqu. I heard no one (!) complain.
Sustainability and repair
Sustainability is of course present everywhere.
You saw a lot of experiments and student works with sustainability on town. Not everything was necessarily fantastic. But at least there is an interesting discussion.
But it was the first time I saw an exhibitor actually sell on the concept of second hand and repair. Basically selling a repair kit for the new products. Love that.
Paris Design Week
Maison & Objet in September is usually at the same time as Paris Design Week. Also so this time. The list was long and I managed to see some good stuff. Here I am at Amelie Maison d’Art and the installation by Studio Pepe.
Swedish Eldvarm had a store opening.
I got the opportunity to see La Manufacture.
And installations by brands like Serax.
The most inspiring and impressive installation was the one by scent brand Diptyque. I will talk more about art and design in my segment from Copenhagen later. But this was an impressive thing. Diptyque had curated a show with perhaps ten rooms with art. Every room had a distinctive and unique scent. No logos. Just art. Just amazing.
Personally I was a bit involved in Swedish Institute in Paris. I had a talk about Swedish design and our relationship to wood.
I loved how they had curated Swedish design with colour inspiration from folklore rather than the typical blonde.
Trend 1 – hay and straws
We should point out some trends too. In the previous report I have already mentioned the colours. But we can also see a lot of hay in installations and design.
Trend 2 – rural retro, perhaps a bit Cote d’Azur
Summary
Maison&Objet. A smaller fair, but with lots of people. And lots of optimistic people. The exhibitions on town were better than in a long time. Actually better than Milan. The installation by Diptyque was suuuuuuper innovative. I met very few designers. More designers in Milan. So perhaps people were here to work and not just find inspiration. The work installation at the fair was super innovative.
I give this Maison & Objet 4,5 out of 5. Or 4+, depending on how you wanna see it. I still miss the larger brands.