This Tuesday I spent a day in Paris to attend the presentation of the new Habitat collection marking their 50th anniversary. The new autumn/winter 2014 collection was presented in a very cool industrial loft in downtown Paris close to the Bastille. And since Habitat is celebrating half a century of its existence, it was time to go strong: And they did!
Habitat presented a very grown-up, contemporary collection rooted in art and architecture of past decades. They paid homage to the founder, Sir Terence Conran, who exclusively designed a sleek tea set made of crisp porcelain for the new collection. Moreover, Habitat showcased an exclusive reedition of furniture designed by architect, decorator and designer Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886 - 1945), who has left his architectural traces in some of the finest arrondissements of Paris. The reedition includes four chairs, a dining table and a coat hanger - all very sophisticated with references to the Bauhaus style and Viennese secessionism.
Another exclusive cooperation was made with one of France's leading chefs, Thierry Marx, who designed a refined collection of kitchen accessories for the chefs at home. But the core of Habitat's autumn/winter 2014 collection is named 'Eleven A.M.' and was created by Habitat's designer Pierre Favresse. I was happy enough to meet him personally and speak with him about his new collection. Colour wise he was mainly inspired by the artwork of Edward Hopper and the lines and forms are rooted in the clean Bauhaus style. But his main vision was to create a collection that will come to life in everyone's own habitat - a collection of furniture and home accessories that will become part of our lives and speak to our various senses.
I really liked what I saw. I was impressed by the grown-up look of every piece, by the sublime colour palette with blues, greens and greys, the use of a mix of materials like metal, ceramics, glass, wood and cork. The furniture collection named 'Eskyss' with lacquered fronts and graphic patterns looks utterly urban and contemporary (it will be available in black not blue as shown on the prototypes). Another highlight was the Edgar trolley and the multifunctional pieces for a stylish home office.
The quickest love at first sight happened with the new tableware collection: Porcelain plates and mugs with a swirly, marble like design, cakestands made of marble and wood, graphic designs on plates, blues, whites and bamboo - all this created a very sophisticated table setting. And filled up my new Habitat wish list! And last but not least I am a new fan of the speaker named 'Timber': Designed as a long, light grey hexagon with wooden ends it works with Bluetooth and plays your favorite music from your iPhone or other device without wires. Good technology and stylish design - LOVE!
I hope you enjoyed the little sneak peek of the new Habitat collection. I will make sure to share more product shots over the coming weeks with you!
Happy weekend!
Photography by Igor Josifovic
