Paris Design Week, the first major event held in the pandemic era, sets out to send a forceful signal. A signal of rebirth, energy and profound reflections on the importance of design. The main happening in Paris is not at a standstill, and spreads out in the city with a remarkable program of appointments, from 3 to 12 September.
Complementary as always, the stage of Maison&Objet appears this time in the guise of a ‘Digital Fair’ with a dual proposal, divided between virtual conferences and showrooms.
Under the thematic heading (Re) Generation, echoing the one already presented this year by M&O from the January edition, Paris Design Week attempts to accelerate a return to business for all the activities that gravitate around the world of design, decorating and the ‘art de vivre.’
‘Mix’ thus becomes the keyword to accompany this unusual edition, where the total freedom to combine events and destinations in a personal program provides a red thread through the proposals for 2020.
Three design districts are involved, Saint Germain-des-Prés, Opéra-Concorde-Etoile and Les Halles-Marais-Bastille, through which to walk and discover the city in a different way; there are 250 participants, including companies, makers of editions, galleries and design studios. The variety of offerings, including presentations, workshops, talks and installations, makes the event versatile, halfway between culture and business.
This orientation is perfectly matched by the Paris Design Factory, an incubator of young talents and a showcase for the presentation of products, ready to launch on the market. Paris Design Factory is organized inside three hubs: Galerie Joseph at 116 Rue de Turenne (with a selection of new offerings from emerging designers); Espace Commines (created by Ecole Bleue, to meet young but already well-known faces for the specialized, since they have been winners in various creative contexts); Galerie Joseph, on Rue Froissart, a window on international design, with a photography exhibition on urban architecture in Africa.
The physical experience in the city is joined by a complementary virtual pathway presented by Maison&Objet through an unprecedented Digital Fair, accessed from 4 to 18 September at the fair’s web portal.
Two distinct but complementary proposals that set out to revive the strong points of the happening that is usually hosted at Parc des Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte: new products, on the one hand, and conferences with sector professionals on the other.
The wide range of offerings of the Digital Showrooms through the MOM (Maison&Objet and More) platform will make it possible to discover new collections of French and international brands in an ‘exhibition’ format directly inspired by trade fair settings. The Digital Talks – along with those of Paris Design Week – will bring creative talents, architects, decorators, designers, distributors and creators of editions online, with a series of conferences, interviews and podcasts to provide an overview of the present situation from the perspective of design.
“We are putting tenfold energy into our entire sector to accelerate the relaunch of shops, showrooms and galleries in Paris. But we’re not stopping there. It is also important to show the tremendous effort of reflection that has been made by designers, the young one and the most accomplished, during the COVID-19 crisis”, said Philippe Brocart, Managing Director of Maison&Objet. “Paris Design Week will be the opportunity for many people to hand in their ideas and share their visions of a new world.”
Paris Design Week becomes part, for the first time, of the debut event of France Design Week, an initiative organized by APCI: a network of happenings that sets out to promote design as a discipline open to the public, involving not just Paris but all of France, from 1 to 15 September.
