Patterned lanterns criss-cross overhead down the streets of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, injecting a rainbow of color into what’s been an otherwise drab-weathered few days at Paris Déco Off and Maison & Objet.
At the textile fair, there have been points of saturation (see: British passementerie artist Elizabeth Ashdown’s retro flair–fueled Kaleidoscope collection for Samuel & Sons), but the consensus is clear: Brown is back. Dedar captured the coloring in sultry textures—the tobacco-toned Goodfellas, which captures boxing motifs in its maze-like engraved velvet, was a favorite. Schumacher coursed the full brown spectrum with its new Orpheum collection, a series of abstract geometrics rendered in silky soft chenille and chunky wool weaves. The standout was Shivalik Hills Tiger, a soulful, woven animal print—one of many pelage-style debuts across brands this season. Meanwhile at Galerie Laura Gonzalez, a panoramic made of textured fiber papers in creamy whites and mocha browns backdrops the studio’s curved Fuji sofa, on view in a chocolate brown Pierre Frey velvet. “I love it with navy blue. It’s so chic,” the AD100 designer told me as a pair of Madras Makramé armchairs in the hue sat opposite.
Nearby, Pierre Frey transformed a derelict town house on rue de l’Industrie with its new Deserts collection. Three floors of transportive interiors (think: tented rooms, canopy beds, and cushion-covered sectionals) lured busy Déco Off-ers, encouraging guests to lounge and linger amid the collection’s kilim-inspired jacquards and jute embroideries.
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Other Déco Off notables include Holland & Sherry, which previewed a collegiate-inspired collection—very The Way We Were, prep-school-in-the-’80s vibes. The boating stripes, varsity jacket and pendant motifs, and Fair-Isle sweater patterns were a delight. Elsewhere, Zoffany presented a series of Indian florals with a French bent in an optimistic blue and pomegranate palette. The patterns were complimented by rich spice-colored solids and block prints on crisp white grounds.
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At Maison & Objet on Friday, I kicked off my trade fair day with an AD PRO Directory member soireé at Le Club. We caught up on design week best-ofs, project sourcing needs, and weekend plans for shopping the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen. Roaming the show floor, I was stopped in my tracks by Maison de Vacances’s painterly strawberry linen fabric, available by the yard or on any of the French label’s homewares, as well as the utterly charming clover-backed chair from Maison Louis Drucker, legacy maker of colorful cane and rattan chairs. Sculptural surfaces maker Cimento, stone purveyors Studio Gaïa, and bronze hardware and lighting source Objet Insolite are other exhibitor names to know.
