Honey, I’m home. Maison&Objet returns in 2022

Maison & Objet Paris is back. The design industry trade fair that takes you to the city of lights in January, when those illuminations are at their most appreciated, returns in real life to Villepinte on the 20-24 January 2022. The exhibition centre in Villepinte, on the northern outskirts of Paris, has been its home for the past 26 years, save a Covid cancellation or two. This time it is also set to spill officially into the city itself: ‘Maison&Objet in the City’ is a new circuit in the heart of Paris, bringing together the most important decorators and showrooms, paired with prestige maisons and exceptional artisanal skill.

As has proved the case with many recent industry happenings, Maison&Objet’s real-life return represents something of a reboot. Still the place to wallow in exciting new product launches from around the globe, from table-top innovations to fresh furniture design both hard and soft, the creative inspiration comes with increased practical hand-holding to ease the sourcing and solution-finding job of interiors professionals.

The Signature area of Hall 7 will gather together all the most innovative premium decor solutions and craft offerings, while also hosted in Hall 7 will be Projects, a section that marshals inspirations for the bones of your project – be it intelligent materials, sustainable flooring, sanitaryware or technical lighting solutions that you seek. To further assist the professional, the fair organisers have also devised curated tours, honed towards your specific métier. They include itineraries on the topics of Craft, French Made, Hotel & Restaurant, Sustainability, Work and Archi-Designer – which take in the most relevant suppliers, craftsmen and bespoke makers.

As might be expected, big new themes inspired by two years of social confinement and change will filter through the fair. Exhibitors will show new visions for the future workplace alongside fresh ideas for live/work setups. ‘New luxury’ is another dominant note that will resonate throughout the halls – defined by this year’s fair curators as either ‘uber luxury’ (which combines fine crafts with new technology) or ‘lux populis’ (which takes its cues from street culture). Maison&Objet’s Designer of the Year, French architect Franklin Azzi will demonstrate a retro-futuristic vision of his practice via an intriguing installation that combines industrial felt cladding and a black lacquered metal table with digital displays.

Some formulas won’t change. The annual Rising Talents Awards section at the entrance to Hall 6 returns, throwing light this time on some fine young designers emerging from Japan. A jury led by Kengo Kuma has selected the talent. ‘The Rising Talent Awards are a crucial springboard for helping up-and-coming design talent break onto a global stage,’ says Kuma. ‘Although each designer has their own specific field of expertise, we have noted that they have all embraced a multidisciplinary approach.’ The chosen designers include the innovative textile designer Yuri Himuro, ‘rust’ champion Yuma Kano, and deconstructed paper lantern designer, Baku Sakashita. Additionally, this year, a new prize is presented – the Rising Talent Craft Award. This goes to the ceramicist Toru Kurokawa, a winner chosen by the Ateliers d’Art de France. His elegantly contorted works of art will be shown in the Craft section, Hall 5A.

Supported by a series of 20 thought-provoking talks featuring prominent design and lifestyle figures, and themed installations of the ‘best in show’, curated by French creative agency and new-gen media outlet GoodMoods, interior stylist Elizabeth Leriche, and creative consultants and trend forecasters François Delclaux and François Bernard, January’s Maison & Objet Paris promises to take us by the hand and lead us forward into 2022 with fresh inspirations, new tools and renewed verve and vision.