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SEATING PLAN

To create its latest chic perch, Hermès worked with Studio Mumbai to develop a tactile take on a centuries-old technique

– ANDREW SARDONE

As awareness about the craftsmanship behind housewares grows, it’s not surprising that texture has become a quality that we prioritize in the objects that surround us. It’s unquestionably at the forefront of the latest Hermès home collection, which debuted this month at the Salone del Mobile fair in Milan. The lineup includes a series of trays in enamel-tinted copper, sculptural table lamps with shades fashioned from writing paper and a wicker bottle basket designed to tote a carafe and glassware to the park.

The most remarkable new piece, however, is the Sillage d’Hermès armchair, created with Bijoy Jain from the Indian architecture firm Studio Mumbai. A beechwood frame is coated in a papier mâché-like mix made up of mostly recycled paper fibre, painted by hand and topped with cashmere cushions. The combination of techniques gives the piece a tactile quality that looks contemporary without any sense of mass production or impersonal technology.

“Bijoy came to Paris, which gave us the opportunity to have a very open discussion about why we would love to work with him, what we like in his work – especially his craft works, his proximity with the materials and his contemporary approach,” says Charlotte

Macaux Perelman, who is the deputy artistic director of Hermès Maison alongside Alexis Fabry. “We were really interested in the source of his inspiration: local materials from his country and culture, but also the fact that he’s using these materials that could look simple but that he emphasizes brilliantly.”

“In his studio, he is around craftsmen working with him on raw materials,” Fabry says. “We really appreciated the fact that he’s working directly with artisans, with know-how, to create contemporary objects, and it’s really similar to what we do at Hermès.”

It’s also an example of how craft bridges cultures. A French house, Indian designer and know-how, and raw materials sourced in Italy’s Puglia region come together to create a touchable new object for modern life.

Sillage d’Hermès armchair, price on request at Hermès (hermes.com).

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2021-09-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-09-10T07:00:00.0000000Z

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