“Vivement Demain !” The Sorbonne shines a light on the next generation’s work

Today’s up-and-coming design talent will be tomorrow’s big names. It is with precisely that in mind that Maison&Objet relentlessly strives to reveal rising talent, notably by presenting its Rising Talent Awards to several international designers each year. This year’s unprecedented “Vivement Demain !” exhibition will also seek to serve that goal. Against the prestigious backdrop of the French capital’s Sorbonne University, students from eight art and design colleges and 13 technical colleges will showcase their projects, which the former completed for their diplomas and the latter for their “masterpieces”. The operation is being run by Paris Design Week in conjunction with the Campus des Métiers d’Art & Design. This institution was set up in 2020 to represent art and design colleges of Île-de-France, championing the training they provide amongst industry professionals. To ensure each prototype is perfected and presented in line with the “go-to-market” mindset, the Campus will be organising special coaching sessions for all the students selected, helping each individual fine-tune their pitch. “This generation are very socially engaged,” notes Heloïse LeBoucher, the Campus’s Operational Director. “They are professional, inventive, curious, and the goal is to show how they challenge objects, space and the way in which items are used.”  

With this year’s theme, Paris Design Week has thrown down the gauntlet of tackling “Desirable Development”, inviting the students to come up with designs that are both attractive and responsible - a theme that echoes Maison&Objet’s “Sustainable” itinerary. These young creative minds tap into the most unexpected future trends with ease, as they are intuitively familiar with the approach. Advocating locally-rooted designs, leveraging existing expertise, addressing social issues, embracing politically driven design and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources are all things they see as givens, not maybes. The students have each focused on their own area of expertise, ranging from furniture design to interior design, graphic design, textiles and fashion. 

To ensure the event encompasses every aspect of the “graduation show” concept, the École Boulle’s third year Event Design students were challenged to come up with the staging for the exhibition. The brief? Tailor the solutions to this historic venue, with its gilding, parquet flooring and woodwork, onto which nothing can be fixed. Provide a modular exhibition space, on a small or large scale, suited to clothing, furniture or objects. Use materials that are commercially available and can be reused, thereby promoting sustainable development. Maëlle Bayon, Adèle Hamelin and Clémentine Jocteur were the creative brains behind the winning concept, designing a solution that will enable each college to build their own stand using offcuts of wood in just four different dimensions, thereby reducing waste. These offcuts will be assembled using “connectors”, allowing each exhibitor to design the perfect stand and order the exact materials they need. Instructions for assembling the stand will also be supplied. Both the OSB wood panels and the connectors can be purchased from DIY superstores. The finishing touch? The three young students designed a symbolic door from the self-same materials to be added to each stand. “It symbolises us moving on from our education to our careers,” they explain. “It’s a gateway to the future.” The idea won the hearts of the jury, whose members included Pierre Gendrot, the coordinator of Paris Design Week. “All the entries were unbelievably professional,” he enthuses. “As well as telling a story and giving everyone the freedom to express their individuality, the volume of the door punctuates each space and adapts to the Sorbonne’s high ceilings.” Maëlle, Adèle and Clémentine also designed the logo for the event. For these three up-and-coming design talents, tomorrow clearly begins today.