2024-01-22 22:10:19
Clarity of expression and search for simplicity are the key principles of designer Christophe Pillet, one of the rare French creators to have acquired global recognition through his creations and artistic projects around the world.
From the transformation of Lancel boutiques to the creation of the Sezz hotel in Saint-Tropez, the Sahrai hotel and the Maison Blanche restaurant in Fez, including the creation of stands for Renault, the sensuality and refinement of his creations left their mark. Architecture, objects, furniture, artistic direction, his signature is invariably associated with the biggest brands: Lacoste, Jean-Claude Jitrois, Catherine Malandrino, Lancel, Le Tannneur International…
Pillet’s inspirations are of Italian origin. A graduate of the Domus Academy, he joined the Memphis group as an assistant to Martine Bedin and Michele De Lucchi, then at the forefront of a new approach to design. Back in Paris, Christophe Pillet participated in the development of the Starck agency. His attention is directed towards architecture and the emphasis is placed on projects in which practicality and economy are exclusively privileged.
The Umbrian company Talenti, specialized in the design and production of outdoor furniture, presented, during the Maison & Objet fair in Paris, the fruits of its collaboration with the designer: the new Ever collection at the same time modern and classic, sophisticated and minimalist, and the Allure collection which returns with a lounge armchair in a new color which further highlights its singularities.
Interview
The new Ever collection presented at the Maison&Objet 2024 show is the result of your collaboration with the famous Umbrian brand Talenti. The relationship between a designer and a brand influences the success of a project. What qualities do you share with the brand?
Christophe Pillet: Conceiving a product, designing it, manufacturing it and then selling it is team work. A collaboration whose result, always uncertain – this is the nature of creative work – is the sum of a shared vision and convergent commitments in its implementation. The quality of the relationship with the teams, trust, enthusiasm, respect, is obviously essential to success. What we share with Talenti is the idea that we are building for a long time and therefore that it is necessary to do well.
Could you describe the Ever collection? The design, the materials, the assemblies… What atmosphere did you want to bring through this new collection?
Christophe Pillet: Ever is an almost classic seating collection. With a slightly “Nordic” and “rustic” orientation, it nevertheless asserts its strong contemporary expression. Relaxed elegance, reasonable proportions, timeless allure are the ingredients here for a lasting image and universal taste.
The Allure collection offers a modularity that is rare in outdoor furniture, while retaining the same elegance. How did you approach this particularity?
Christophe Pillet: You just have to go backwards; not to design a modular system which will generate a set of more or less successful solutions, but to precisely design the different pieces of furniture that we want, their size, their proportion, their expression, then manage to invent the modular system which will compose them.
The outdoor furniture here displays the same qualities as indoor furniture, with remarkable execution details. How was this made possible?
Christophe Pillet: There is in fact no reason why outdoor furniture should not be designed and executed with the same attention and the same requirements as indoor furniture. This is the principle that we apply with Talenti in the design of the collections.
There is great humility in your creative approach in the sense that your objects favor elegance and discretion, giving an important place to the human being who evolves with them. Is this the common thread of your approach?
Christophe Pillet: I don’t think it’s humility, but just what I like and what I expect from an object. They are elements of services and of “promoting” people. Elements which, together, make up the theater or the scenographies of our daily lives. As essential as they are, they are not the heroes or the central subjects.
www.christophepillet.com
www.talentispa.com
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