Portable boules court flies the flag for Francophile fun in the sun

Responding to the brief of creating a portable pétanque set, French designer Antoine Chauvin was inspired by a nautical aesthetic to create his traveling playing ground. Part of swimwear brand Vilebrequin’s new series of summer-infused games (which includes beach paddles and a bilboquet among other items), this set is imagined as the frame for a game of pétanque, to take place in a Parisian park or on a beach in Saint Barthelemy (and anywhere in between). Through its products, the French brand has been championing the ’art of living in the sun’ mixed with a sense of togetherness ever since it first launched in 1971, and these new pieces add a further playful element to its history.

The collapsible kit features aluminium and nautical rope in varying shades of green and blue. The 12-meter playing field is marked by flags bearing the brand’s traditionally summery motifs and patterns, and the brand’s turtle logo is stamped on the blue and silver boules. ‘Trough the tense structure I tried to phrase the fragile feeling of freedom, of creating intimacy in a public space’ explains Chauvin, an ECAL graduate whose work has been recently celebrated by Toulon’s Design Parade.

His flat-packed design is intended to be universal, to be used, sent or moved by anyone, and his design approach was informed by the universality of the game: ‘Pètanque can include everyone, of all ages. It has a sense of meeting between people, of discovering your neighbourhood and make friends’ he continues. Including two telescopic masts, stackable edging, rigging, a fastening kit, and fold-away flags, the kit is ready for a spontaneous summer game.

A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2020 Issue of Wallpaper* – which is available to download for free here

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