From 3 to 10 September, PARIS DESIGN WEEK (PDW) will be back onstage with a new visual identity for a session that’s more playful and creative than ever. The headline event of the season in Paris, it will bring together some 300 participating spaces in five neighborhoods and six thematic itineraries. A sneak peek at the event.Even more new participantsDesign showrooms, brands, concept stores, museums, galleries, shops, hotels and restaurants… As every year, PDW has a range of new recruits. On the Left Bank, Tectona has joined the great design celebration, along with Catellani&Smith who will be on hand at Electrorama. Tai Ping will present a 100% designers collection with first and foremost André Fu, MAISON & OBJECT ASIA’s 2016 Designer of the Year. As for the Maeght Gallery, it has announced a collaboration between designer Olivier Gagnère and the Japanese porcelain house Arita, a faithful MAISON&OBJET exhibitor. On the Right Bank, designer Céline Wright is joining PDW. The fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto and textile designer Pietro Seminelli have begun a wonderful collaboration. At the shop of the National Museums (RMN) at the Centre Pompidou, the great Italian design editor Magis will celebrate its 40th anniversary. Among the faithful PDW participants who will be on hand again this year, the Joseph Gallery will stage an installation from the Leroy Merlin chain in its Rue Froissart location.
Five neighborhoods and six headline itinerariesFor its 6th year, PDW is focusing on five areas: Saint-Germain, the Marais–Bastille, the Opera–Champs-Elysées, Barbès-Stalingrad, and the Docks–City of Fashion and Design. The events will be organized around six itineraries. With a shout-out to the second edition of the Projets itinerary, launched in 2015 and geared toward interior designers. Its itinerary aims to guide interior design specialists to places offering innovative architectural solutions, in synergy with the MAISON&OBJET l PROJETS l sector held every September at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Centre. Also presented for the second time, the UPCYCLING itinerary, which was launched in 2015 during COP21, features green, creative and innovative solutions through installations and workshops. Also of note: ENSCI, which has just set up a first contribution to PARIS DESIGN WEEK, will spearhead two workshops with a European dimension. The first explores the potential of trade between artisans and fablabs, in partnership with the Barcelona design school and the Plymouth school. The second will present a collaboration with the European Linen Confederation.
now! le Off, an international panorama of emerging designAnother highlight of PDW: the now! le Off exhibition, organized at the Docks – City of Fashion and Design, will bring together more than a hundred young designers from 25 countries. At its conclusion will be elected the new talents of emerging design from around the world, with partnership from the RADO Star Prize France, which will hold its 5th session. Also at the City of Fashion and Design, the “Talks” initiated by Chantal Hamaide (Intramuros Magazine) in 2015 will be repeated, in light of the success of last year’s talks about design and lifestyle stars. We can’t wait to see the program!