{"id":15469,"date":"2018-09-10T17:16:49","date_gmt":"2018-09-10T21:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/?p=15469"},"modified":"2018-09-17T17:17:48","modified_gmt":"2018-09-17T21:17:48","slug":"savoir-faire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sothebysrealty.ca\/insightblog\/fr\/2018\/09\/10\/savoir-faire\/","title":{"rendered":"The Art of Savoir Faire"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is no surprise that Roche Bobois has stayed true to its motto \u2014 art de vivre (the art of living). The iconic French retailer has been on the forefront of modern design for more than 65 years. With 250-plus showrooms around the world \u2014 including the more recent openings in Tokyo, Singapore, Jakarta and Sofia, Bulgaria (in Canada, there are stores in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and four in the province of Quebec) \u2014 the brand\u2019s ultra-stylish pieces have become a mainstay in design-chic homes-away-from-home, such as The Langham in New York, Palazzo Ridolfi in Florence, and H\u00f4tel Version Maquis Citadelle in Corsica. But it is Roche Bobois\u2019s commitment to collaboration and innovation that solidifies the company\u2019s reputation as a designer favourite in today\u2019s fickle and ever-changing world of d\u00e9cor.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Marcel Wanders (right), shown with Gabriele Chiave, who designed the eclectic Globe Trotter Collection, (a collaboration with Roche Bobois)<\/a><\/div>\n

Roche Bobois itself is an amalgamation of two noted design families \u2014 the Roches and the Chouchans, who were selling furniture at Au Beau Bois (a name that later evolved into Bobois) \u2014 who bonded over their shared appreciation of mid-century design. It was at the Copenhagen Furniture Fair in 1960 that Philippe and Fran\u00e7ois Roche met brothers Patrick and Jean-Claude Chouchan, and the decision was made to combine their resources to import Scandinavian design to Paris. However, it wasn\u2019t until 1971 that Roche Bobois experienced its first major design milestone, courtesy of the Mah Jong modular sofa.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"La Parisienne dining table with fabric-wrapped legs<\/a><\/div>\n

Conceived by German designer Hans Hopfer, it was based on freedom of function and form and tossed out all the rules of formal living furniture. The three basic elements of the Mah Jong \u2014 seat cushions, straight backs and corner or lounge chair units \u2014 can be combined or stacked, allowing for a limitless number of custom combinations. \u201cAt that time, this low-seat sofa was very popular, very hippie chic,\u201d says Gilles Bonan, CEO of Roche Bobois. Adaptable to any space, the Mah Jong\u2019s relaxed take on a luxury product continues to resonate today. \u201cIt\u2019s still the number one selling item for Roche Bobois all over the world,\u201d he notes. \u201cIt\u2019s really a timeless product.\u201d<\/p>\n

But this wasn\u2019t always the case. Experiencing slow sales in the \u030190s, the brand decided to collaborate with the world\u2019s top fashion houses in the hopes of rejuvenating the Mah Jong. \u201cWe were kind of pioneers because design and decoration companies didn\u2019t work with fashion at that time,\u201d explains Bonan. \u201cWe saw clear links between fashion and design. [Both are] influenced by trends, by the changes in society and, of course, we have many things in common \u2014 fabrics [and] colours, the emotion, modernity, creativity. For me, [all that is] part of the same world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roche Bobois\u2019s first alliance was with Paris- based Kenzo, a men\u2019s and womenswear luxury brand. Soon after, other fashion collaborations followed \u2014 with Missoni, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel and, in fall last year, with Kenzo Takada, who founded Kenzo in 1970 but retired prior to the marque\u2019s initial collaboration with Roche Bobois. Signature Roche Bobois designs include the Zephyrus sideboard, a sapphire blue butterfly-like piece that looks like it was transported from an episode of Star Trek, and the award-winning elegant Ora Ito dining table, a textbook example of fluid modernity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Mariposa, a table lamp doubling as a suspended lighting fixture<\/a><\/div>\n

Another nod to the company\u2019s commitment to innovative design is its contribution to sustainable product development. Roche Bobois\u2019s first eco-minded piece was the Legend bookcase created by Christophe Delcourt 11 years ago. \u201cAt that time, eco-conception was not really popular,\u201d recalls Bonan. \u201cWe were kind of extremists in our respect of the environment.\u201d The bookcase was designed without any internal hardware and used a water-based varnish to treat the wood, which was sourced from a sustainable forest in Burgundy. Roche Bobois has since created other eco-friendly products, such as the glass Diapo dining table and the modular Edge 2 Composition bookcase. It even developed its own criteria, ECO8, to minimize the environmental impact of its operations from start to finish by using sustainable and recycled materials, and natural finishes like oils or waxes instead of polyurethane varnishes, and maximizing product durability and recyclability.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"Dojo, a lacquered Japanese-inspired bookcase<\/a><\/div>\n

A recent accomplishment of note is the 2017 opening of La Galerie Roche Bobois in Monaco. Conceived as an exhibition space rather than a retail store \u2014 an on-trend way to showcase merchandise \u2014 the gallery highlights some of the brand\u2019s signature pieces alongside the work of other artists, such as the photographers behind Studio Harcourt, a hush-hush portrait studio in Paris devoted to the rich and famous. It\u2019s this ethos of artistic creativity that informs the uniquely playful side of Roche Bobois.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople just want to enjoy their interiors, for them to be comfortable, creative, colourful,\u201d says Bonan.<\/p>\n

Consider that mission accomplished.<\/p>\n

\n

By Caitlin Agnew –  *This article originally appeared in INSIGHT: The Art of Living | Fall 2018<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is no surprise that Roche Bobois has stayed true to its motto \u2014 art de vivre (the art of living). The iconic French retailer has been on the forefront of modern design for more than 65 years. With 250-plus showrooms around the world \u2014 including the more recent openings in Tokyo, Singapore, Jakarta and Sofia, Bulgaria (in Canada, there are stores in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and four in the province of Quebec) \u2014 the brand\u2019s ultra-stylish pieces have become a mainstay in design-chic homes-away-from-home, such as The Langham in New York, Palazzo Ridolfi in Florence, and H\u00f4tel Version Maquis Citadelle in Corsica. But it is Roche Bobois\u2019s commitment to collaboration and innovation that solidifies the company\u2019s reputation as a designer favourite in today\u2019s fickle and ever-changing world of d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":15470,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[394],"tags":[918,922,967,968,969,970],"class_list":["post-15469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-insight-magazine","tag-insight-fall-2018","tag-insight-magazine-fall-2018","tag-roche-bobois","tag-canadian-interior-designer","tag-japanese-design","tag-designer-collaborations"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Art of Savoir Faire | Insight Magazine: Fall 2018<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Roche Bobois continues to transform furniture into chic conversation pieces, but what keeps critics and customers at 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