FROM DECORATOR TO DESIGNER
Thursday 10 September —
14:00
- 15:00
The Talks
Description
Many of today's top purveyors of interiors share one thing in common: they have in recent years launched their own furniture collection. We discuss the reasons behind this all-pervasive phenomenon with two of France's leading decorating stars, as well as one of the co-founders of The Invisible Collection.
Participants
Charles ZanaArtistic Director & Consultant
Anna ZaouiCo-Founder The Invisible Collection
Laura GonzalezArchitect Designer
Ian PhillipsJournalist & Author
Charles Zana
Artistic Director & Consultant
From Paris, London, New York and Monaco, Charles Zana has been reaffirming his expertise as an architect over the past thirty years. He tastefully transforms residential interiors and public spaces. Trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, he developed his signature style and strengths through working on spaces entrusted to him by his clients. He shares with them a cultured, resolute vision that is also that of an art and design collector, specifically of the great masters of 20th century Italian design. In the monograph « Charles Zana : Intérieurs » (“Charles Zana: Interiors”), published by Rizzoli in 2018, he reveals the uniqueness of his style. A stringent architect, he offers his fundamental principles throughout these pages: comfort, fluid passageways, an eye for detail, the principle of balance and harmony, discreet technology, and the ability to make the history of a space his own and update it, to better magnify it and give it a subtle twist. He loves creating a dialogue between his client/collectors’ artworks and their living space, like an exhibition curator. Following in the footsteps of the great designer-decorators of the 1930s, he conveys a certain French art de vivre through a contemporary lens. His rigor and the excellence of his project creations rely on teams of exceptional artisans, light technicians and landscape designers who share his values of elegance and luxury through details. Architect Charles Zana loves sharing his passion for art and design, first with his colleagues, but also with his students at the Ecole Camondo in Paris. In 2019, Charles Zana was named Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres by David Caméo, Director of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs.
Anna Zaoui
Co-Founder The Invisible Collection
A former reinsurance risk specialist turned homemaker turned entrepreneur, Anna is passionate about contemporary art and Pierre Chareau (she lives in an apartment designed by the great French architect). A keen art collector and patron of the arts, Anna is a council member of several prestigious institutions, including the International Council of the Design Museum in London, and the Hayward Gallery. Her Moroccan roots and French upbringing inform her taste which she describes as “classic with an edge”. Above all, she brings her collector’s eye to The Invisible Collection’s projects. A tireless traveler, she spends most of her time between London and New York, perpetually on the hunt for up-and-coming artists while working closely with some world-renowned interior architects. Her motto: Be Daring, Be Consistent, and Be Passionate.
Laura Gonzalez
Architect Designer
Designing spaces with a clear identity could be Laura Gonzalez’ speciality if we had to choose one. Never staying within the confines of a single style and always inspired by many different points of reference, Laura translates her personality into spaces that she revamps with constantly refreshed rigor. Throughout the years and projects, Laura Gonzalez has acquired experience and a certain maturity in her interior designs and her choice of projects. Defining her style as “multifaceted chic”, a great lover of art, sculpture, photography, and painting, she is inspired by an classic universe updated with a contemporary touch. To consolidate her growing success, this young interior design quickly surrounded herself with a team of artisans with a wide variety of expertise, blending all her inspirations…cabinetmakers, uphlosterers, and other artisans, with whom she crafts her interiors. Heading up an agency since 2008 and which is now in full expansion mode, Laura works on a number of projects, such as high-end homes or apartments, and restaurants or hotels in Paris (Le Manko, l’Alcazar, the Relais Christine, the Lorraine, the Ile, the brasserie d’Auteuil, the Noto, La Gare, Lapérouse…). Her fame has allowed her to move into larger-scale international projects, such as boutiques for major names such as Cartier, Christian Louboutin, Pierre Hermé and l’Occitane.
Ian Phillips
Journalist & Author
In a career stretching over near 30 years, the English-born, Paris-based journalist Ian Phillips has interviewed the likes of Henri Cartier-Bresson, Yves Saint Laurent and Balthus. Now specialized in design, he is the author of four books on interiors edited by Taschen and a former editor-at-large for AD Germany. He has also participated as a moderator at the TEFAF Maastricht fair. Today, he freelances for a wide range of publications, including AD USA, Departures, 1stdibs and Vogue Living Australia, and recently penned the texts for a new book on the Bisazza art foundation, which will be released by Rizzoli in late September.