Parisian Furniture Family Bets on Craftsmanship and Modular Design

The Mah Jong couch is generally noticed in images of eclectic, ultra-luxurious living rooms in an array of eccentric designs and colours. Boxy and very low to the floor, the Mah Jong starts off as humbly as a solitary couch. It can be merged and organized with lots of other sofa, armchair and ottoman components to seat 20 or a lot more men and women. This calendar year, its maker, Roche Bobois, celebrates 50 several years of providing the Mah Jong couch. The assortment however exudes exclusivity, as it’s the only selection for which buyers ought to inquire about pricing.

To mark the situation, the Parisian designer household furniture brand collaborated with Kenzo Takada, who has considering that handed absent, Missoni and Jean Paul Gaultier on eye-catching material solutions. All the models are bold, vibrant and decidedly trendy. It’s not difficult to picture these fabrics displaying up on a runway during Fashion 7 days. Soon after all, all the designers at some level have been very well-proven haute couture designers, and each Mah Jong cushion is handmade by artisans in Italy.

Mansion World wide caught up with Nicolas Roche to locate out about the craftsmanship, determination to sustainability and the legendary style that retains the brand name going.

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Mansion Worldwide: As creative director of Roche Bobois, what had been your duties with regard to the 50th anniversary Mah Jong selection? Did you make your mind up which trend designers to collaborate with? 

Nicolas Roche: My principal duty was not essentially to find a new designer to function with. Eventually, we had two matters we wished to accomplish. 

First, we required to emphasize the amazing longevity of this model. For a model that is only 61 yrs aged, obtaining an product stay legendary for 50 decades is extraordinary. We needed to pay tribute to all of the designers that have contributed to this piece’s achievements more than the years. First, the Kenzo model, then Missoni Residence, Jean Paul Gaultier, and finally, Kenzo Takada himself in a new collaboration that we had begun two several years right before his death to celebrate this anniversary.

Apart from the fabrics, we wished to give it new life in conditions of appearance and use. So, we created new picket bases that raise the cushion off the ground and make it seem to be floating, generating a fragile horizontal line. This was a main breakaway from the way it utilised to be positioned on the floor in the 1970s. That is why we’re contacting it the Mah Jong 2..

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MG: Hunting at recent home furnishing tendencies, which will drop by the wayside the swiftest and which will have the strongest being power?

NR: More than the colour of the calendar year or fashionable supplies, I imagine that individuals in basic and especially our prospects are wanting for responsible, genuine products and solutions with adaptable and organic styles that are carefully made by talented craftsmen utilizing elements of managed origin. In brief, goods that have this means, and that convey the values of sustainability alternatively of impulsive and unbridled intake.

MG: What is the a person product or service from Roche Bobois that helps make the largest effect on a home’s model?

NR: My response likely does not sound extremely shocking to you, but most unquestionably the Mah Jong, edition just one or two, because of to its subtly irreverent charm and the joie de vivre that it delivers to living spaces.

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MG: How has the Mah Jong collection’s reputation modified over the decades?

NR: When the Mah Jong arrived in the ’70s, it was thought of a groundbreaking avant-garde piece mainly because it was very first created to provide the independence of situation and the means to organize it you and become your very own designer. As years went on, the layout became much more admired when well known fashion properties started to “dress” the Mah Jong. The textiles have been built by Missoni House, Jean Paul Gaultier and Kenzo Takada. 

MG: What about the Mah Jong has improved more than the years?

NR: Not too long ago and for the very first time, this Roche Bobois very best-seller turned available in an outside variation, protecting the endless modular mixtures that built it this kind of a success. A new characteristic includes a metallic base with a perforated pattern that supports cushions in refreshing colors. It also capabilities trays on the sides and at the rear of the seats for keeping your goods. 

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MG: Can you tell us more about the Mah Jong 2.?

NR: In addition to the new outdoor version, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Mah Jong, the most up-to-date compositions contain wonderfully crafted indoor wooden veneer bases for optional lifted seating. These tasteful platforms rest on slightly recessed legs, which generate the surprising illusion of floating cushions. At the back again, together the entire size of the base, a sleek piece shaped like an aircraft wing holds the cushions in location. The platforms come in finishes that match the colorways of the Mah Jong materials: reliable ash, veneer in heat or light-weight tones or glossy lacquer with deep reflections. A new design true to the identification of the Mah Jong, making it much more present day than at any time.

MG: What are two or a few particulars about the Mah Jong selection that you won’t uncover with competition?

NR: True to its initial id, the Mah Jong is continue to built with 3 fundamental features that can be stacked or grouped alongside one another. The Mah Jong has progressed its iconic layouts around the decades, establishing its level of popularity in the interior and structure globe. Acquiring been reinterpreted by renowned artists like Joana Vasconcelos and superstar fashion designers, building exclusive textiles like Kenzo Takada and Jean Paul Gaultier, it is identified as a piece that retains craft and excellent. All parts are handcrafted in Italy in a focused workshop using procedures and strategies identical to those people of the haute couture fashion industry. Designed in the style of a luxurious mattress, just about every part is individually hand stitched.

MG: What is your definition of luxurious?

NR: Luxurious is observed in the beauty of shapes, the authenticity of wonderful elements that communicate for them selves, and the endless joy made by objects that fulfill both equally entire body and thoughts.

This job interview has been edited for length and clarity. 

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