Luxury Indian Ocean No3 Édition 2016 | Page 55

ULTRA-LUXE

How then did this transition to interior design occur?
There have been interludes and alternations between these two areas…
At Givenchy I’ve lived a fabulous experience that has brought together my
three passions: I was the project director responsible for the redesigning
of the first and business classes of Singapore Airlines.
Was it the gateway to the second phase of your professional life?
Hmm, to some extent… We designed everything from scratch! Holistic
thinking is what I like the most. A profound quest that may be captured
through these three questions: Who are we? Where do we want to go?
How do we get there?
Finally, how did the Stéphane Parmentier Agency come into being?
One day, I felt it was time for me to say to myself: “Now do what you’ve
always wanted to do: architecture!” I was immediately entrusted with
remarkable projects.
I then launched artefact collections, including one for Ormond Editions,
which was an immediate success. I was commissioned by Hermès for
the designing of a pop-up store, and by Orange for the redesigning
of its headquarters…
Since three years, I am the artistic director of Christofle and Le Printemps
de la Maison. And for six months now, I’ve been offering the same services
to Lou Fagotin!
You were born with impressive organisational skills!
Indeed, I’ve been lucky in this respect. And the Agency is perfectly
organised around these three axes: interior architecture, the three forms of
artistic direction, and design. Several collections are being prepared, CTO
lighting (the luminaire supplier from UK), Petit h, porcelain furniture, and
our own collection…
Do all the constraints faced by a company run counter to the flippancy
that is required vis-à-vis reality for rethinking and creation to take place?
We could believe this, but I don’t work thoughtlessly. I rather focus on a
subject to pursue its tale and not rewrite it. I love to venture into the heart
of things, to better retrieve myself before plunging back into them. I would
like to be more offhand, but – it’s a weakness that’s inherent to a strength –
I am very focussed on the subject…
The hardest part is to remain on track to reach that flash of inspiration that
has occurred for a second. It’s a philosophy that I want to transmit to the
teams for the future of the company.

© Luxproductions

A philosophy that originates from what you’ve nicely coined “the silent
luxury” … Does such a philosophy negate all possibilities for the world
of Kitsch and exaggeration?
Not at all! Silent luxury has more to do with sensations than with sight.
It appeals to the individual more than to the group. I want to bring these
sensations and details back to a scale that is human and personal, but not
loud and international.
From the heart of things to the heart of the human being…
That’s it! We work a lot on the materials to be used. To recreate the joys
of walking barefoot, instead of stoneware tiles, I will opt for lava flooring
which I will ‘patinate’ to create a satin finish! I am not looking for mundane
effects but for intimate vibrations, a kind of harmony that each day grows
more indispensable until it hopefully verges on the spiritual in the end …

LUXURY MAURITIUS

53