For the first time, ‘Made in Viet Nam’ handicraft products have been on display at Paris Design Week – one of the world’s most prestigious events to celebrate design and creativity.

Designer Guillaume Delvigne poses with his lacquer creations at the Paris Design Week. (Photo courtesy of Hanoia)

The showcase of Vietnamese products was part of the D17/20 Craft and Design in Southeast Asia exhibition, a collaborative project involving craftspeople from Southeast Asia and French designers to highlight daily lifestyle and craft products. This was the first time Viet Nam had had products displayed at the event.

The 16 lacquer objects included vases, trays, shelves, lamps, mirrors, lights, hooks and clocks and were the result of a collaboration between three French designers and craftspeople of the Vietnamese haute lacquer house Hanoia in January.

The designers and craftspeople created the items in just two weeks, from sketches to creating samples and perfecting the final products.

Guillaume Delvigne, who graduated from one of the best design schools in Europe, the École de Design Nantes Atlantique in France, before attending the Polytechnic University of Milan, created some of the vases.

Hailed as one of the 100 best designers in France in 2019 by the French publication Architecture Design, Pierre Charrié has designed special lamps which can change colour.

For the D17/20 project, designer Marie Aurore made different creations, including a set of four lacquer mirrors using metal ribbons. 

Initiated in 2017 by the French Embassy in Thailand, in collaboration with Institut Français Paris, the D17/20 Craft and Design aims to strengthen the design industry in Southeast Asia through workshops held in Thailand, Indonesia and Viet Nam, where local designers and craftspeople join their French peers to develop products.

The project connects 43 designers from France, Thailand, Indonesia and Viet Nam, with 18 local craft workshops.

Paris Design Week 2020, which took place from September 3 to 12, drew more than 200 designers, architects, decorators from all over the world to present their latest creations.

The week also included the home decor fair Maison & Objet, which offers design connoiseurs latest trends, innovations, decoration and design. The fair also helped to connect the international interior design and lifestyle community.

Source: VNA