At Design Parade 12, young designers’ experiments come to the fore

While most of the European design scene slows down for the summer months, there are one or two fairs that keeps things moving. Design Parade Hyères (on view until 24 September), located at the idyllic Villa Noailles, is a case in point. Last year, the fair decided to spread its wings and open another show in the nearby town of Toulon, with an eye on interior architecture and decoration. Drawn from experimental design competitions, innovative interior sets and solo shows, we round up the unmissable highlights.

By Sujata Burman

last updated 11 October 2022

White table top, red, white and yellow colour theme water fountains that take the form of ambiguous object, white wall background

Design Parade Hyères’ annual design competition was decided by a jury headed up by Inga Sempé, and which included Carwan Gallery’s Nicolas Bellavance-Lecompte, Vitra CEO Nora Fehlbaum and Mutina CEO Massimo Orsini. French designer Arthur Hoffner was among the ten finalists, for his ‘Être ou ne paraitre’ water fountains that take the form of ambiguous objects.

Left image: 'Venise' light, white wall, top of rubber plant, top of pink chair. Right: 'Perspective' glass object, white background

Other finalists include duo Pauline Capdo and Luis Bellenger – who were praised for their ‘Venise’ light (pictured left) – and Dutch studio OS Δ OOS, for its ‘Perspective’ glass objects

Black background, three vase containers multicolours, mirror effect black surface

Icelandic designer Ragna Ragnarsdóttir got a special mention nod in the Eyes on Talents x Frame awards, thanks to her ‘Main D’Oeuvre’ containers and mirrors created from reappropriated industrial materials

Left; Furniture sausage white project items, grey texture surface. Right: primitive ‘Dune’ benches, chairs and stools, sand coloured background

Left, Carolien Niebling scooped the Grand Prix Design Parade Hyères award for her ‘Furniture Sausage’ project, questioning whether the silhouette and composition of the meat product could make it a perfect object. Right, student finalist Lisa Ertel’s primitive ‘Dune’ benches, chairs and stools

White shelving unit, bamboo with porcelain, glass and mirror objects, neutral textured wall, doorway into next room, grey floor

Samy Rio, a previous winner of Grand Prix Design Parade Hyères, presents her research into mixing bamboo with porcelain, glass and mirrors in a solo exhibition

White block platforms with installation of geometric and colourful vessels in enamelled porcelain and iridescent glass objects, white wall background

Pernelle Poyet, another former winner, is exhibiting ‘Figures’: an installation of geometric and colourful vessels in enamelled porcelain annd iridecent glass

Left: five glass vases in a circle, white surface and background wall. Right: White block platforms with installation of geometric and colourful vessels in enamelled porcelain and iridescent glass objects, white wall background

Poyet’s show exemplifies her multifaceted use of embossing and moulding. The collections on view also include a glass vase made in partnership with Galerie Kreo

Interior set displayed against a green background, brass mirrors and wood vases etched with abstract drawings, thrfee little black stools, blue wire chair, mustard yeloow curtain backdrop, grey checked floor

Also showcasing research is Maria Jeglinska, with an array of prototypes in an installation titled ‘Arrêt Sur Image’. The display is set against a green background. Jeglinska’s works include ‘Little Black’ chairs (reminiscent of those found in the Polish cafés of her childhood), brass mirrors and wood vases etched with abstract drawings

Interior room, white walls, two textile rugs on left wall, neutral stone floor, white side tables, white lamp, experiments and finished products on display, shelving unit, textiles hung from the ceiling

Jury president Inga Sempé also presents a solo show – dubbed ‘Tutti Frutti’ – showcasing her experiments and finished products from the past 15 years

Left: White room, tile wall mirror, glass tile ceiling, wooden wall pages, shower unit with a dark wooden platform. Right: White walls, black num ber and finger wall clock, black and wood side table with neutral lamp, suspended white ceiling lamp

Sempé shows her eclectic designs for Italian and Scandinavian brands, all set in the swimming pool and squash room of Villa Noailles

Interior image, red stone floor, white walls, white arched ceiling, strip ceiling lights, long table black top on green brick legs, wall art to the right, white curved walls to the front of the shot

Another Design Parade Hyères finalist, Florent Jullien, was noticed for his display of personalised outdoor furniture arrangements. His assortment of connecting fixtures can be altered to create swimming pools, wind breaks and screens

Interior room image, blue swirl and white walls, red brick and blue swirl floor, delicately crafted vases, wall art, potted plants

Italian designer Valentina Cameranesi’s solo show deals with the perception of femininity in the 1980s via delicately crafted vases, fabrics and photographs set within a former hairdressers

Meditation space, mahogany stained box takes centre-stage, blue and white swirl walls, white wall to the right with window and grey curtains, ceiling light

French-Chilean duo Catherine Ronziere and Pablo Figueroa have created a meditation room for their living space, inspired by a Moroccan village. A mahogany stained box takes centre-stage as an area for repose; while the architecture allows for plenty of natural light

Exhibition of photographs and prototypes exploring the alchemy between earth, water and fire, white walls and floor

This year, Design Parade Hyères has put terracotta from the French village of Salernes in the spotlight with an exhibition of photographs and prototypes exploring the alchemy between earth, water and fire

Interior room, red stone floor, black coffee table, white walls with different portraits see the illusion of faces and objects rendered in the doodles, doorway open to next room with grey walkway

Swiss designer Adrien Rovero has created a gallery of moving CNC-created artworks inside his exhibition space at the villa. The different portraits see the illusion of faces and objects rendered in the doodles

Left: Totem artwork. Right Living room space, yellow blue and white theme, white and yellow steps, arched floor standing lamp

Left, Rovero also shows recent products in the space, such as his ‘Totem’ (detail pictured), 2016, for Petit H. © Adrien Rovero Studio. Right, the ‘Pan’ living room by Mark Daovannary, Alice Louradour, Samuel Bégis and Caroline Charrel is a playground for artists. The surrealist walls are imbued with symbolic colours – blue for the sea and yellow for the sun – and the patterns they form create an intriguing perspective of the space

Interior image, white grid design floor and walls, yellow furniture, doorway, potted plant, white curtains

Design Parade Toulon features a competition inviting designers to realise their vision of a living space. The ten finalists include Nastasia Potel and Mylène Vasse, who created the ‘Main Mise’ living room set against a map grid. As an ode to the ocean and nature, they made the pieces out of yellow transparent glass and filled them with sand

Interior bedroom space, neutral colours, using materials such as clay and birch wood, Simon has created an aura of tranquility around the central island bed area

Recent graduate Emmanuelle Simon won the Public and City of Toulon Prize with her bedroom space. Using materials such as clay and birch wood, Simon has created an aura of tranquility around the central island bed area

Colourful, theatrical living space, neutral floor and natural materials, colourful drawings on the walls simulating furniture and soft furnishings

This year’s winners of the Grand Prix Design Parade Toulon are Paul Brissonnet and Alexandre Benjamin Navet with their ‘Imajaghan’ room – a theatrical space that presents endless possibilities for living and working

Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.

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