Header: Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton’s Objects Nomades collection has been the topic of conversation at the Milan Design Week since the 21st of April, having been presented at Palazzo Serbelloni. The maison furnished several rooms of the palace, having mixed Objets Nomades pieces, Art of Living objects, trunks, textiles and archival materials. The official inspiration for the exhibition was Art Deco, but a myriad of other styles can also be explored.
Legrain’s Art Deco influence
Legrain worked with Louis Vuitton in the early 1920s, having moved between bookbinding, illustration, cabinetmaking, interiors and furniture while always leaving his touch: lacquered surfaces, leather linings, marquetry, graphic patterns and Art Deco lines. The project coincided with the centenary of the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. As part of the same heritage programme, Louis Vuitton also presented a separate exhibition, Louis Vuitton Art Deco, at LV Dream in Paris, showing more than 300 objects across eight rooms.
The Céleste Dressing Table
The most obvious “Legrain” re-edition is the Céleste Dressing Table, based on a piece commissioned in 1921, deemed by Louis Vuitton as its first furniture creation. The new version kept the original omega-shaped outline and used black lacquered wood, caramel cowhide leather lining, a glass mirror, two drawers, metal trim and Louis Vuitton drawer handles. Unlike the other pieces in the room, it came from a specific early commission rather than a general Art Deco reference.
The Riviera Chilienne Chair
The Riviera Chilienne Chair was reworked from a 1925 deck chair, with the new version being made from American walnut with Opéra Nomade leather, mother-of-pearl and oak marquetry, plus the addition of the VVV motif to the headrest. The idea of “travel” was central in the exhibition of this piece, with the furniture having been shown alongside trunks, archival travel accessories and portable objects, including a train carriage background that brings visitors back to the maison’s luggage history.
Nuits de Paris and other pieces
The maison also presented textiles and smaller pieces for the house. The Nuits de Paris throw, for example, reimagines a Legrain book cover design into a wool and cashmere jacquard with gold-accented archival motifs. It was shown with cushions, stools and table pieces, including the Flower Puzzle cushions, the Flower Crown napkins and plates, Fragments trays, Diamond glasses, Twist glasses and a Coffret Joaillerie.
Contemporary “vintage” designs
The historical designs were set against contemporary Objets Nomades pieces by Estúdio Campana, Raw Edges and Géraldine Gonzalez. Estúdio Campana’s Kaleidoscope Exo – Green cabinet was a one-off made from 616 leather-covered facets, using green exotic-leather offcuts on a faceted exterior, with brass feet, leather-covered shelves and three drawers. The Cocoon Arty Dichroic Iridescent, also by Campana, used a fibreglass structure with iridescent leather, dichroic leather and dichroic fringes composed by Géraldine Gonzalez. Raw Edges’ Stella Armchair introduced a softer silhouette than the Legrain pieces.
Malle Courrier Lozine Maison de Famille
The exhibition extended beyond the palace to Louis Vuitton’s Via Montenapoleone store, where the Malle Courrier Lozine Maison de Famille was on display. Made entirely from stained glass for a recent Pharrell Williams fashion show, it presented the classic trunk as a stained-glass object.
Our thoughts
In Milan, Louis Vuitton used Pierre Legrain to bring its archive into the present, extending his work across furniture, textiles, tableware, trunks and collectable pieces.
