Paris Deco Off 2022: Fromental Launches Ethereal Wallcoverings, Studio KO Steps Into Stone, and More

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The postponement of Maison & Objet and Deco Off in January was a bummer to design brands ripe with new product launches, yet, as they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The saying proved true this week, as event attendees were treated to a supremely beautiful late March in Paris—topped only by the inspiring new collections on view.

From March 23 to 28, Paris was abuzz with product previews, collaborative installations, and showroom cocktail hours all tied to Paris Deco Off or the more recent events lineup Maison & Objet In the City. Below, discover a taste of the happenings AD editors were able to fit into their agendas.

Day 1

After taking a redeye to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport, we hopped on the train straight to the Parc des Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte—home of the expansive design fair Maison & Objet—to scour new products from more than 1,800 exhibitors. This season, the fair unveiled its recent investment in the Signature luxury design hall. From pop-up restaurant collabs with designers Tristan Auer, Uchronia, Daniel Rozensztroch (founder of Parisian concept shop Merci), and Paola Navone, to a majorly Instagrammable exhibition from Japanese art collective TeamLab, there was much to discover beyond new furnishings and accessories. (Of course, the halls featured a number of notable launches, too.)

Having our fill of the fair, we headed to the Galerie des Gobelins at the Mobilier National (which stores some 200,000 decorative works) to toast the opening of “Good Taste for Bad Design,” an exhibition celebrating French design savoir-faire.

Glasses empty, we raced over to Saint-Germain-des-Prés to see “Le Tour du Monde en Trois Actes” by Vincent Darré, an alluring installation of the French designer’s new works with The Invisible Collection and de Gournay, held a floor up from the latter’s showroom. There, a live band crooned sultry jazz and the warm radiance from brass fixtures elevated Darré’s trio of imaginative bespoke wallpaper designs, which derive from the idea of walking through a French pavilion. Downstairs, de Gournay’s latest botanical series with AD100 designer Michael S. Smith enlivened the showroom alongside new rock-crystal chandeliers by Fisher Weisman.

Day 2

What’s a morning in Paris without a stop at a corner café? Today’s visit came with an added treat: In honor of Wayne Pate’s new Paris Elemental Collection with Studio Four—a series of painterly fabrics and wallpapers inspired by his time spent living in Paris—the designer produced a series of charming slipcovers for bistro chairs at local favorite La Palette in Saint Germain.

Stopping in at showrooms, we discovered a new rug collection inspired by the seaside at Deirdre Dyson; Arte’s ultra-chic Objet collection, a series of suede-finished, sculptural wallcoverings that draw details from coffered ceilings; and a fresh selection of chunky weaves, cotton velvets, and ethereal sheers at Larsen, ranging from breezy whites to dusty mustards and deep terra-cottas.

Later, we trekked to boiseries atelier Féau & Cie’s warehouse to marvel at the house’s impressive collection of historically significant millworks, which the studio uses today as models for custom requests from top architects and designers. (Most recently, the firm worked with architect Aline Asmar d’Amman and Karl Lagerfeld to create the boiseries featured in the redesign of the Hôtel de Crillon.) As if a tour of architectural salvage with third-generation executive Guillaume Féau wasn’t enough, the workshop had teamed up with The Invisible Collection and Dedar to preview the label’s latest designer collaborations, including the Charles Zana sofa that, as Féau pointed out, was featured in Gwyneth Paltrow’s Montecito home in AD’s February issue.

From there, we cabbed back to Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where Fromental was debuting its latest hand-painted wallpapers alongside furniture designs by Marta Sala Éditions. On view throughout Sala’s stunning apartment, which looked down onto the courtyard cocktail party, the wallpaper was an ode to the shades of light throughout the day—from a punchy orange gradient to a sleek, suede-like wallcovering dotted with knotted fibers meant to mimic a starry night.

Moving from cocktails to crustacean, we made our way to seafood spot Caché in La Villa Riberolle, where Pierre Frey treated an intimate group of press and designers to grilled Turbot and yellowtail carpaccio, among other Mediterranean delights, in celebration of the brand’s release of the Merveilles d’Egypte and Parade collections.

Day 3

The day started with a gallery tour down Rue de Lille. First up was interior designer Laura Gonzalez’s newly opened showroom, for which she partnered with American textile house Schumacher as it preps for its official launch in France. Together, Gonzalez and Schumacher created the most inviting space, layered with delightful details such as a pretty-in-pink striped fabric wallcovering, a rosy tortoiseshell-patterned desk and chairs, and a set of the designer’s Mawu chairs upholstered in a fringed peacock fabric.

Nearby, tablescape decorators Waww La Table showed off its exclusive designer collabs, including India Mahdavi’s oh-so-fun debut collection of glassware, dubbed Les Mabouls and dotted with colorful, mouth-blown glass spheres. Like several of Waww La Table’s collections, the handmade works support Ateliers de Tyr, an artisan village in Lebanon. The pigment-rich palette continued at Comar Paris, an emerging luxury bedding label by French designer Agnès Comar. No detail was left unconsidered in the stunning pearl cotton sets, which feature customizable embroidery.

Of course, we also had to stop by to see the latest happenings from a few AD100 talents. Designer Charles Zana, for example, showed off his brand new gallery stocked with sculptural works from his inaugural furniture line, which launched earlier this year. Elsewhere, there was buzz aplenty for a new Bisazza marble collection by Karl Fournier and Olivier Marty of AD100 firm Studio KO. Constructed with a modernist appeal, the trio of designs feature a geometrical and highly veined pattern that designers will crave.

Wanting to end the day with a pop of color, we met up with designer Pierre Savauge at Casa Lopez to see what’s new with the trend-setting maker. This season, the brand debuted a new fabric collection, composed of lovely floral embroideries, charming shirting stripes, and punchy weaves. Good news for locals: The fabrics are newly available by the yard through Casa Lopez’s fabric showroom, Tissus Choisis, located on Boulevard Raspail.

An open table streetside at a nearby cafe caught our eyes (and relieved our feet), so we settled for an afternoon apéritif and people watching. Cheers to the return of Paris Deco Off and Maison & Objet In the City!