BE MY GUEST

doesn’t close, it drapes across the window but you can still
see through it. It is very nice to have a view but it is better
that there is not too much transparency.
What is the story behind the curved chairs in the
showroom?
I designed the chairs with layers. It wasn’t just a question of
aesthetics, it was an intellectual question. When I started to
learn about Tai Ping I fell in love with the complexity of
its story. I was interested in finding a way to talk about the
fact that there are so many layers to the company including
history, couture and aesthetics. For me, furniture is a way to
talk about it.
Where did your fascination with Chinoiserie start?
It was the designs in the 1735 work ‘Liveres de Dessins
Chinois’ by Jean-Antoine Fraisse. His drawings have
incredible details.
You designed a Chinoiserie collection which is now in the
Shanghai showroom. How do you anticipate this being
accepted in modern China?
I originally designed them for the Paris showroom
but it became a collection because people wanted to
buy them. It was a link between the historic story of
the building and Tai Ping. I don’t know how it will
work here but I think the Chinese like the idea that
the French copied their designs so many years ago. It is
about pride. I am not saying we are the best because we
come from France. It is about sharing the history. They
put three in Hong Kong and they sold all of them on
the same day. R
THE
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