Maison&Objet 2024: What to expect at the upcoming Parisian fair’s January edition

And so, begins a renewed celebration of all things décor and design: with hardly a pause after the winter break, Maison&Objet is set to return this year, marking 30 years of French-inspired excellence in the allied industries of design, décor, and lifestyle. Delving into a future spelt by creativity, innovation, sustainability, and business, the bi-annual design fair will take place from January 18 - 22, 2024, at the Paris Nord Villepinte Exhibition Center, promising to take visitors on “a journey to a re-enchanted future, where technology and nature exist in harmony,” as relayed in the press statement shared by Maison&Objet.

Positioning itself as a catalyst for upholding Paris as a primary magnet for international creative talents, Maison&Objet 2024 will challenge the antithesis with its theme, TECH EDEN, which will render the design event, the city’s showrooms, as well as the M.O.M. marketplace, in tandem with being inducted within three core areas of expression which remain at M&O’s heart: interior architecture, retail, and hospitality. Since 1994, Maison&Objet has displayed its trademark ability to “provoke fertile international encounters, to accelerate the visibility of the brands that join its shows or its digital platform, but also a singular instinct to promote the trends that will make the heart of the decoration planet beat. Maison&Objet's mission is to reveal talents, offer opportunities for online and offline exchanges and inspiration, and facilitate the development of companies,” they add.

Here's what to expect at the 30th-anniversary edition of Maison&Object Paris this year.

Regaining paradise through progressive futures

Taking off from last year's theme—ENJOY!—this year promises to divulge a ‘dream-like optimism’ vis a vis shape and colour, based on ‘futuristic biophilia’ and a fresh world of well-being. “Maison&Objet is more attentive than ever to its customers and their needs, positioning itself at the heart of key challenges, now and in the future, by connecting creativity, innovation, and eco-responsibility. Our ambition is to illustrate all the opportunities available to the home décor, design and lifestyle sector, and actively support its development,” relays Mélanie Leroy, managing director, Maison& Objet Paris.

According to Leroy, this will primarily be reflected in the quality and programming of events for the design exhibition's upcoming edition in Paris, France, spread across the Designer of the Year's innovative project, the development of a What's New? space providing actual responses to the challenges in retail, and the Hospitality Lab, which will embody a unique and forward-looking vision of the hybridisation of hospitality venues.

The theme was formulated in collaboration with the creative strategy agency Peclers Paris, which views it as an opportunity to “highlight the profound evolution in the relationship between science and nature, and project it into a sustainable and desirable future.” This will be witnessed through immersive experiences, where TECH EDEN will invite and engage professionals to rethink spatial design and layout, augmented by technological innovation, and employing innovative aesthetic and environmental approaches.

Substance and poetry coalesce with the notion of progress, where Peclers promises an accelerating concept articulated by scenographies that soothe, energise, and inspire. “This narrative, reconciling a futuristic utopia with new realities, will feed into the show’s activities, encompassing all sectors of interior decoration and design, arts and crafts, retail, decor and hospitality,” they reiterated.

Explaining their intent and concept further, M&O shares an example of science fiction which has witnessed a new era, and keeps accepting newer discourses and attempts exploration. While Stanley Kubrick’s cult film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was modelled on a journey through space and time, the setting at the mercy of extraterrestrials, the genre stepped into fantastical natural environments, such as the massive world-building by James Cameron in Avatar 2 (2022) and Thomas Cailley’s Animal Kingdom (2023) which explores the idea of mutation in a world that is half-human, half-animal hybrids, signifying a profound shift in culture and societies, in the way we perceive these dystopian settings, bookended by a more emotional, poetic narrative. “The desire in this new-generation narrative is no longer to reclaim space, but rather an original paradise and a return to a wild existence exalted by scientific progress,” M&O Paris explains.

Mathieu Lehanneur: Designer of the Year 2024

In each January edition, this Maison&Objet award honours a key personality in the international design and decoration landscape, and the 2024 honour has been conferred to French designer Mathieu Lehanneur, who operates succinctly at the intersection of art, science, and gesture. Recognised as a ‘trailblazer’ for the global design and décor community, Lehanneur will have carte blanche to create the scenography for his dedicated space at the show this year, reflecting on his research and career path named Outonomy.

“I'm a designer who still doesn't know what design is. Or more precisely where it begins and where it ends. I see design as a [grey] area, a territory without fixed borders. Our brand was built with this in mind,” the 50-year-old designer states.

Lehanneur’s manifesto positions his works and research on the tangible as much as the intangible, as articulated by him: “Because objects have the power to transform us, because we are body and mind because what we possess represents us.” In his works, he collaborates closely with scientists and start-ups, combining design and technology, art and artisanal know-how, while drawing inspiration from nature and history. Adding to his repertoire of stunning as well as research-infused works including the State of the World sculptures, he has just designed the Olympic and Paralympic Torch for the Paris 2024 Games, and will reveal the Cauldron during its opening ceremony.

On being named the coveted DOTY 2024, M&O recalls how Lehanneur is known to breathe a touch of irrationality into his work, “awakening curiosity, provoking emotion, and soliciting wonder. Known worldwide for his works and his talent for combining art, design, science, and technology, the creator… is one of the rare designers of his generation to embrace so many fields of creation. His approach is radically multidisciplinary, ranging from objects to architecture, from artworks to product designs, and from unique hand-crafted pieces to cutting-edge technological works.

The product designer conveys his thoughts on Maison&Objet’s theme as well as his interventions at the upcoming fair: “TECH EDEN is a very inspiring theme, an oxymoron that invites us to get back to our roots but through a mastery of the ‘source code,’ by combining nature and technology. The idea is to use the intelligence of nature and that of human adventure and to finally forget any hypothetical domination over nature so we can construct the basis for a new collaboration between human beings and their environment. My reply needs only a few words: to progressively remove all obstacles between the dream and the means for its realisation.”

“Escape, take off, breathe, live… These are a few actions that effectively sum up the project that I’ll present at Maison&Objet in January 2024. Without saying too much about it for the moment, the project is based on the idea of independence and freedom, far from all the noise and the density. Towards some other place for inventing and reinventing oneself. The project Outonomy is an ecosystem of life, both minimal and optimal. The history of civilization and architecture is punctuated by attempts, solutions, and proposals for an isolated home: the igloo, the cabin, the hut, or the yurt. The challenge here is to combine our needs with current technologies. Far from being nostalgic or an attempt to return to the past, Outonomy aims to respond to the question: what do I really need?” he enquires.

Technophile explorers of Utopia

“Sensitive explorers are embracing technological advances and using them to develop an augmented, tailor-made form of everyday life, with the goal of creating a soothing, dreamlike environment,” share Brune Ouakrat, strategic planner and futurologist, and Charlotte Cazals, designer and trend forecaster at Peclers Paris. This proceeds towards an awakened concept of biophilic design, of sustainable and technological experiments that emerge and are brought together by social media. The five-day fair will explore this concept further in its happenings through three major areas of exploration, in several locations, creating expression through futuristic aesthetics and technological advances, underscored by a gentle approach, an appetite for a return to biophilia. “Venues are becoming hybridised, and their uses more diverse,” they elaborated.

At Maison&Objet Paris 2024, retail will be viewed through three trends: sustainable minimalism, responsible brutalism (re-use and recycling of materials), and organic fluidity. Going beyond just presentation, “the ‘What’s New? In Retail?’ space in Hall 7 of the Décor section will [be] evolved into a genuine think-tank for the now omnichannel distribution sector, offering a selection of new products, a programme of workshops and conferences, a café, and a wealth of merchandising ideas. François Delclaux will thus present a space for sourcing, inspiration and exchange, in collaboration with the global design agency BETC. The scenography of the venue has been given the softest of designs, where ‘tech’ makes a discreet appearance, expressed by enveloping materials, natural forms, and gentle colours,” the host relays, who have also planned coaching workshops throughout the five days of the show.

“Called Supersoft, it offers a fully-fledged experience for retailers, who can draw inspiration from this space to optimise their shops, which are undergoing a profound transformation towards a hybridisation of spaces due to changing customer expectations. From the shop window to the display tables, from the shopping journey to the spotlight on favourites, from the overall ambience to the balance between physical and digital, visitors can 'pick and choose' the best of what exhibitors have to offer… More than just points of sale, stores are now also places where you can enjoy a coffee or a snack, but also pleasant, functional spaces where you can settle down to work for a few hours or participate in a well-being workshop,” they add.

For the second consecutive edition, the fair is also set to present The Well-being Experience, an immersive space that aims to understand the keys and challenges of the market. Following a notable success at its launch in September last year, this space will invite shops to immerse themselves in a selection of new products that enhance well-being for oneself or at home, as well as around twenty workshops to discover new practices of ‘letting go’ or cultivating balance, according to Maison&Objet, who will set the meeting within the Well-being&Beauty sector, in Hall 3.

Progressive futures of well-being at home, driven through soft tech

Even as societal distress and tensions sustain, the need to feel at ease within the safety of our own homes, of intentional well-being has increased manifold—here is when fresher, tested technologies help in responding to needs, underscored by nature and sophistication. This can be witnessed in Once Upon a Dream, a capsule room designed by Lehanneur, for the reopening of Hôtel de Marc. “To encourage more restorative sleep, the principle of this ideal room is based on artificial and programmable management of natural day/ night cycles,” they share, emphasising a renewed focus on fusing natural environments and technology which is colouring our current and future natural epoch, where renewed consideration is paid to the natural resources of the planet and where designers can develop sustainable, beautiful, and balanced solutions towards the same.

The home as a cocoon of well-being

The post-pandemic systems of living and working have seen a massive shift in practices and behaviours: the home and work are hybrid, where remote working, open-source technology and e-commerce merge, and new trends in interiors keep evolving. Now, more than ever, the privacy of our homes has cemented into a refuge, “a soothing cocoon with a friendly, modular design; the living room becomes an office, while the bathroom is a living room dedicated to well-being. At the show, Elisabeth Leriche’s 'What's New? In Décor' trend space will focus on a fresh approach to interior decoration inspired by the theme of the session and translated into patterns, textiles, installations, and immersive décor,” they elaborate.

A Hospitality Lab as an escape pod

With ‘Hospitality Lab,’ Peclers Paris will offer three biophilic, immersive and future-focused escape pods in its Trends Forum: awakening, active and regenerative. Each is ready to represent one of the facets of a hospitality sector that is regularly developing and offering new approaches to the beneficial getaway experience, reconciling nature and technology.

The Hospitality Lab in Hall 6 will offer an inspiring setting with the Trend Forum by Peclers Paris dedicated to the TECH EDEN theme accompanying Lehanneur’s Outonomy; a carte blanche given to REV Studio who have created a multifunctional experience halfway between the physical and the virtual, with a gigantic table combining wood and glass as its central element conducive to socializing with its on-sale and takeaway offerings; and a selection of innovative brands. Maison&Objet will also indulge in an itinerary dedicated to hotel and restaurant projects, and a series of talks where one can meet the experts who are exploring these subjects.

The Future on Stage and Rising Talents

Future On Stage, Maison&Objet’s launching pad, has been rewarding in the past two years, remarkable young companies, operating in the contemporary design, decoration and lifestyle sectors. In each edition of the fair, three outstanding and highly creative young companies are given an exhibition space at the show, where they benefit from enhanced visibility and support from market experts. For the fourth time since its inaugural chapter, the Future On Stage pavilion is set to become a booster for developing businesses.

In its latest edition, Future On Stage is consolidating the promise of a lasting alliance between creation, invention and sustainability. Chaired by Mélanie Leroy, managing director of SAFI/ Maison&Objet, the jury comprises Vincent Grégoire, Director of Consumer Trends and Insights at NellyRodi; Philippe Lehr, Director of Sales and Development at Designerbox; Franck Millot, Director of Paris Design Week; Florence Delage, Director of Sales at Le Bon Marché; Cristiano Benzoni, co-founder of Studio REV, and Vincent Romeo, founder of Blog Esprit Design and Director of Agence 14 septembre.

The awards are set to distinguish Anga (France), Bluecycle (Greece) and Tosco studio (Portugal), three young companies with truly forward-looking approaches, according to M&O’s statement, witnessed through three projects which point to an optimistic future, reconciling aesthetics, nature, and technology.

“The jury was very much unanimous in choosing these brilliant, disruptive and innovative projects. Each one offers forward-looking solutions combining technology, technique, craftsmanship and eco-design. Whether seen from the perspective of slow decor, sourcing raw materials, or the second life of a product, they all embrace the values of eco-responsibility, not as a marketing tool, but as something self-evident. When examining the applications, we make sure that this holistic approach does not come at the expense of design or scalability. As you will see, our approach has paid off!” shares Leroy.

Relatedly, for this anniversary edition, the Rising Talent Awards are adopting a new format: “Instead of singling out emerging talent from a single country, the selection looks to the future by honouring young designers and researchers who are responding with relevance to the ‘new frontier’ of digital technology that is shaking up our way of doing things,” M&O Paris shares.

"Two words stood out for us: High Tech and Savoir-faire,” commented Dereen O'Sullivan, head of the Rising Talent Awards at Maison&Objet. “The recent emergence of new processes, such as artificial intelligence and 3D printing has opened up a whole new world of adventure for designers. This revolution raises a number of questions: isn’t the excellence of the art of the hand being called into question? Finally, will the machine replace man?” they question.

The Rising Talent Awards Jury also reveals a marked trend in design: “the porosity between different universes, opening up the field of design to quasi-philosophical and metaphysical values,” continues O'Sullivan. This includes Jean de Loisy, curator and President of the Jury for the Liliane Bettencourt Prize pour l'intelligence de la main in 2021, and former Director of the École des Beaux-Arts after having been Director of the Palais de Tokyo (who chose Jenna Kaës for ‘the power of spirituality’); trend-spotter Li Edelkoort, a leading figure in fashion and design chose Aurélie Hoegy a ‘choreography of vines’; Lionel Jadot, interior architect, decorator, artist, filmmaker and founder of Zaventem Ateliers from Belgium, who picked Emma Cogné for ‘weaving together industrial waste’; Joseph Grima, Director of the Design Academy Eindhoven in the Netherlands who picked Audrey Large for a ‘fusion of design’; and Stéphane Galerneau, President of Ateliers d'Art de France, has chosen the Rising Talent Craft, awarding it to Line & Raphaël for ‘marquetry enhanced in 3D’.

For the first time, Maison&Objet extended the dialogue to one of their previous Rising Talents, Athime de Crécy (selected by Philippe Starck in September 2023) who chose Felix Rasehorn and Robin Hoske of WINT Design Lab, for ‘breaking down the boundaries of technology.’ Ramy Fischler, Designer of the Year 2020, was chosen for the jury for his futuristic outlook, wherein he picked Nelson Fossey for ‘high-tech design’ this year.