As soon as a maker of leather-covered pipes, now a coveted international style home, Longchamp has by no means as soon as misplaced its mastery of craft. In its newest chapter, the French model has teamed up with celebrated designer Pierre Renart to make its first foray into furnishings, the place supple leather-based and sculpted wooden come collectively as one. The gathering of 9 items – the Wave leather-based bench and a set of eight Ruban chairs – will make their grand debut at Milan Design Week at Longchamp’s flagship boutique.
Whereas this marks Longchamp’s first official furnishings assortment, it’s not the primary time the style home has collaborated with Renart. In 2021, the model commissioned the designer to create unique Wave espresso tables for boutique shows everywhere in the world. The Milan presentation looks like a pure subsequent step of their evolving partnership.
True to Renart’s signature sculptural aesthetic, the Wave leather-based bench and Ruban chairs are crafted from American walnut in a means that means the items have been effortlessly shaped from a steady ribbon. In actuality, Renart meticulously assembles ultra-thin items of wooden, bending them into sinuous, fluid shapes. That sense of motion was the one artistic path Longchamp supplied. “These designs are all Pierre’s work,” shares Sophie Delafontaine, Artistic Director at Longchamp, “however we challenged him on a single level: to make sure that – even with the mixture of wooden and leather-based – the items appeared as gentle and fluid as if that they had been executed in wooden alone. We wished him to maintain the concept of motion, of the one, unbroken line – and clearly, he has executed precisely that.”
To present the gathering its distinct Longchamp id, Renart upholstered each bit with supple cowhide leather-based, a long-time objective of his that was lastly realized by this collaboration. The Wave bench is clad in wealthy mahogany leather-based whereas every Ruban chair options their very own hue, together with Longchamp’s signature heritage greens. “Leather-based is a powerful materials to work with,” says Renart. “After I met Sophie Delafontaine, she took me by all of the various kinds of leather-based and the way Longchamp makes use of them. It’s thrilling to have the ability to apply that experience to my designs.”
The result’s a set that’s each quintessentially Renart and unmistakably Longchamp, an ideal fusion of flowing kinds and leather-based craftsmanship. It honors custom whereas carving out one thing solely new, and stands as a testomony to the ability of artistic collaboration throughout disciplines.
To study extra concerning the Longchamp x Pierre Renart collaboration, go to longchamp.com and pierrerenart.com.
Pictures by Gary Schermann.
