Maison & Objet 2020: Highlights From the Recent Design Fair
Trends at the online event could help us navigate the pandemic, move toward sustainability and find joy along the way
Agnès Carpentier
26 September 2020
The September 2020 edition of the Maison & Objet trade fair, which usually takes place in Paris, was transformed into a digital conference (the Digital Fair, Sept. 4-18, 2020) on the event’s year-round digital platform, Maison & Objet and More. Through online seminars, podcasts and product picks, the fair pinned down the trends for the coming year with the help of experts on style, architecture, design and lifestyle. The meeting explored the consumption patterns of the younger generations, the new needs created by COVID-19, the movement toward a more ethical and sustainable lifestyle, and the future of production and the places where we spend our time.
Ports table by Bene. Photo by Wolfgang Zlodej
New Consumers in the Era of the Internet and Smartphone
On Maison & Objet’s 25th anniversary, trend forecaster Vincent Grégoire, director of consumer trends and insights at the NellyRodi agency, placed the conference under the heading “(Re)Generation.”
In the fair’s January edition, he had stressed the activism of Generations Y (aka millennials) and Z. This time around, he invited us to analyze millennials’ hyperconnected lifestyle, fueled from a young age by the internet and smartphones. He reminds us that by 2025, Generation Y (born roughly 1980-1995) and Generation Z (roughly 1996-2010) will represent 75% of the world’s workforce.
New Consumers in the Era of the Internet and Smartphone
On Maison & Objet’s 25th anniversary, trend forecaster Vincent Grégoire, director of consumer trends and insights at the NellyRodi agency, placed the conference under the heading “(Re)Generation.”
In the fair’s January edition, he had stressed the activism of Generations Y (aka millennials) and Z. This time around, he invited us to analyze millennials’ hyperconnected lifestyle, fueled from a young age by the internet and smartphones. He reminds us that by 2025, Generation Y (born roughly 1980-1995) and Generation Z (roughly 1996-2010) will represent 75% of the world’s workforce.
Toucan Paradise wallpaper by La Touche Originale
The portrait Grégoire paints of millennials, who grew up in the digital era, is that of “an augmented generation, enamored of screens, gaming, pixels and fluorescents.” They turn to social networks to spot trends and don’t hesitate to boycott brands and hold them accountable. They are also more invested in wellness and quick to reshape the world from their beds — “a down jacket and comforter generation.”
With the advent of coworking and co-living, these young people have reinvented mix-and-match. Their decor favors eclecticism and flexible furniture. Tech is everywhere. Grégoire suggests this is the foundational element of their universe, “a facilitator that makes everything fluid” for them. Millennials have redefined the world and their environments through four new rules: more digital, more wellness, more mixing and more technology.
The portrait Grégoire paints of millennials, who grew up in the digital era, is that of “an augmented generation, enamored of screens, gaming, pixels and fluorescents.” They turn to social networks to spot trends and don’t hesitate to boycott brands and hold them accountable. They are also more invested in wellness and quick to reshape the world from their beds — “a down jacket and comforter generation.”
With the advent of coworking and co-living, these young people have reinvented mix-and-match. Their decor favors eclecticism and flexible furniture. Tech is everywhere. Grégoire suggests this is the foundational element of their universe, “a facilitator that makes everything fluid” for them. Millennials have redefined the world and their environments through four new rules: more digital, more wellness, more mixing and more technology.
Desk, mirror and stool from Resistub
New Needs in Interiors After the Pandemic
In the seminar “Information & Intuition: Anticipating the New Needs of Consumers After COVID-19,” Jaye Anna Mize, vice president of home interiors
at Fashion Snoops, and Carrera Kurnik, editor-in-chief of consumer culture and strategy at the same trends agency, identified four emotions that have been particularly acute in recent months: anxiety, isolation, fear and confusion. These are paired with more positive impulses — gratitude, inspiration, empathy and clarity — that are likewise reflected in our collective responses to the pandemic. These emotional needs translate into home decor, particularly in ways that create barriers to the negative emotions and help prepare us for the hard blows in life.
Modularity. Consumers will favor more modular interiors that enable them to carry out all of life’s activities, such as working, eating and playing. “This pandemic has really caused consumers to look deep at their needs … and with that we’ve really prioritized items that are more adaptable for all situations,” Mize says.
New Needs in Interiors After the Pandemic
In the seminar “Information & Intuition: Anticipating the New Needs of Consumers After COVID-19,” Jaye Anna Mize, vice president of home interiors
at Fashion Snoops, and Carrera Kurnik, editor-in-chief of consumer culture and strategy at the same trends agency, identified four emotions that have been particularly acute in recent months: anxiety, isolation, fear and confusion. These are paired with more positive impulses — gratitude, inspiration, empathy and clarity — that are likewise reflected in our collective responses to the pandemic. These emotional needs translate into home decor, particularly in ways that create barriers to the negative emotions and help prepare us for the hard blows in life.
Modularity. Consumers will favor more modular interiors that enable them to carry out all of life’s activities, such as working, eating and playing. “This pandemic has really caused consumers to look deep at their needs … and with that we’ve really prioritized items that are more adaptable for all situations,” Mize says.
Porcini vase by ChiCura Copenhagen
Healing and comforting interiors. Increasingly we expect interiors to enhance our health, with attention focused on solutions for air and water purification and antimicrobial work surfaces. This focus includes home fitness, with materials and furniture adapted to indoor exercise.
Our interiors have become a refuge, and we are investing heavily in protection from the outside world with better sound insulation and an emphasis on sleep and the decor of the bedroom and living room. “We are in no doubt in a comfort movement,” Mize says.
7 Design Trends for 2020 at the Atlanta Furnishings Market
Healing and comforting interiors. Increasingly we expect interiors to enhance our health, with attention focused on solutions for air and water purification and antimicrobial work surfaces. This focus includes home fitness, with materials and furniture adapted to indoor exercise.
Our interiors have become a refuge, and we are investing heavily in protection from the outside world with better sound insulation and an emphasis on sleep and the decor of the bedroom and living room. “We are in no doubt in a comfort movement,” Mize says.
7 Design Trends for 2020 at the Atlanta Furnishings Market
Ginkgo Pop poster by Common Modern
Reliable, stable, durable, local.
The stressful climate we live in reinforces our need for resilience and durable products. “People are home all the time, using their home products a lot more, so this resiliency is really key,” Mize says.
Aside from the pandemic, we are conscious of living in an environmental crisis. We are anxious to preserve our planet with lasting solutions that carry little or no environmental impact, notably by putting new value on the local.
More humor. The health crisis and life in lockdown have created a desire for small uplifting touches in our homes. “Consumers will be tightening their belts on spending, but they will find … value in these little colorful pieces of joy that they can bring home with them,” Kurnik says.
Reliable, stable, durable, local.
The stressful climate we live in reinforces our need for resilience and durable products. “People are home all the time, using their home products a lot more, so this resiliency is really key,” Mize says.
Aside from the pandemic, we are conscious of living in an environmental crisis. We are anxious to preserve our planet with lasting solutions that carry little or no environmental impact, notably by putting new value on the local.
More humor. The health crisis and life in lockdown have created a desire for small uplifting touches in our homes. “Consumers will be tightening their belts on spending, but they will find … value in these little colorful pieces of joy that they can bring home with them,” Kurnik says.
Neva Lounge Trimmed chair, Cloud sideboard from Artisan
Conscientious Consumption
Trend forecasters Elizabeth Leriche, François Bernard and François Delclaux, who presented their interpretations of exhibited objects, emphasized the advent of simpler and more ethical things, imprinted with art and spirituality. These new creations will speak to engaged and conscientious consumers who distance themselves from the mass production of disposable products.
Conscientious Consumption
Trend forecasters Elizabeth Leriche, François Bernard and François Delclaux, who presented their interpretations of exhibited objects, emphasized the advent of simpler and more ethical things, imprinted with art and spirituality. These new creations will speak to engaged and conscientious consumers who distance themselves from the mass production of disposable products.
Zig Zag & Tam Tam stools, Sherbet vases from Pols Potten
If Bernard sees an aspiration to simplify or even spiritually elevate our possessions in this postindustrial era — a trend he calls Modernastic — Delclaux accentuates a new focus on the local. He speaks of the New Traditional, of a “creation which establishes new traditions by searching for a proximity of production at a hyper-local scale, which respects an environmental ethic.”
Leriche sees an artistic breeze blowing through the lifestyle sector, with a powerful expressivity of form and graphics. She cites examples of new objects that are “flattened or in totemic forms a la Brancusi, stripes a la Buren, drips a la Pollock, cubic faces a la Picasso and reassuring organic forms.” This season’s trends negotiate the boundary between art and craft.
Textile Trends Look to a More Sustainable Future
If Bernard sees an aspiration to simplify or even spiritually elevate our possessions in this postindustrial era — a trend he calls Modernastic — Delclaux accentuates a new focus on the local. He speaks of the New Traditional, of a “creation which establishes new traditions by searching for a proximity of production at a hyper-local scale, which respects an environmental ethic.”
Leriche sees an artistic breeze blowing through the lifestyle sector, with a powerful expressivity of form and graphics. She cites examples of new objects that are “flattened or in totemic forms a la Brancusi, stripes a la Buren, drips a la Pollock, cubic faces a la Picasso and reassuring organic forms.” This season’s trends negotiate the boundary between art and craft.
Textile Trends Look to a More Sustainable Future
Siena paint from the Terres Lointaines collection from Atelier Germain
Colors and Materials: A Return to Raw and Natural
Earthy palettes. In the “context of the return to simplicity, to nature,” the colors favored in our interiors remain largely inspired by the earth, vegetation and the sky, in “a monochrome motif of muted shades picked up by stronger accents — citrus, fennel or Black Krim tomato,” Bernard says. He also notes the “whiteness, the diaphanous paleness” of trending materials —alabaster, for example, which for him signifies the quest for the spirituality of creation.
Delclaux emphasizes “a mineral and woody spectrum composed of light woods, pebble grays, the colors of the earth — ochre, brown, terra cotta — and the colors of glazes: celadon, porcelain blue or Prussian blue.”
As for Leriche, she defines the spectrum of colors of the year as “warming and muted,” where warm tones (saffron, terra cotta, garnet) are contrasted by forest colors (sage, pine and turquoise) and punctuated by neutrals (chalk and slate gray).
Colors and Materials: A Return to Raw and Natural
Earthy palettes. In the “context of the return to simplicity, to nature,” the colors favored in our interiors remain largely inspired by the earth, vegetation and the sky, in “a monochrome motif of muted shades picked up by stronger accents — citrus, fennel or Black Krim tomato,” Bernard says. He also notes the “whiteness, the diaphanous paleness” of trending materials —alabaster, for example, which for him signifies the quest for the spirituality of creation.
Delclaux emphasizes “a mineral and woody spectrum composed of light woods, pebble grays, the colors of the earth — ochre, brown, terra cotta — and the colors of glazes: celadon, porcelain blue or Prussian blue.”
As for Leriche, she defines the spectrum of colors of the year as “warming and muted,” where warm tones (saffron, terra cotta, garnet) are contrasted by forest colors (sage, pine and turquoise) and punctuated by neutrals (chalk and slate gray).
Swatches from Libeco Home
Natural and raw materials. In the movement toward more simplicity and even rusticity, the most natural and raw materials are gaining favor. For Bernard, this season’s winners are light woods and woven materials (straw, webbing and caning). On the textile side, we see linen, wool, rattan, seagrass and sisal.
Stripes appear in graphic interplays featuring strong contrast, and patched or fringed materials show a raw but sophisticated treatment in fabrics with imperfect edges, as though “fallen from the loom and crudely cut,” the forecasters say. Leriche notes the importance of wool and piled fabric in creating comfortable and enveloping textures. She also sees the enduring appeal of ceramics, stone, wood, blackened metal and colored glass.
Natural and raw materials. In the movement toward more simplicity and even rusticity, the most natural and raw materials are gaining favor. For Bernard, this season’s winners are light woods and woven materials (straw, webbing and caning). On the textile side, we see linen, wool, rattan, seagrass and sisal.
Stripes appear in graphic interplays featuring strong contrast, and patched or fringed materials show a raw but sophisticated treatment in fabrics with imperfect edges, as though “fallen from the loom and crudely cut,” the forecasters say. Leriche notes the importance of wool and piled fabric in creating comfortable and enveloping textures. She also sees the enduring appeal of ceramics, stone, wood, blackened metal and colored glass.
Usva napkin by Anu Leinonen for Lapuan Kankurit
More Ethical, More Durable, More Wellness
Other digital talks focusing on ethical values — caring, durability, recycling — likewise drew our attention.
Care. Antoine Fenoglio (Les Sismo), Marilyne Goulard, (Tarkett) and Eric de Thoisy (SCAU) discussed the power of architecture to do good and the manner in which we can face the present crises, in a talk titled “Caring Architecture.” “The point of care is not to overdramatize, but to approach our interiors by tackling the problem of vulnerability head on,” de Thoisy says.
Durability and recycling. Virginie Corbasson, director of European development at Calin, and Virginie Mourouvin, style expert there, explored the trend of neo-vintage and secondhand goods as new growth opportunities for brands. “Amidst economic troubles and a lack of meaning, active consumers have been sharpening their pragmatic approach during this health crisis. Going forward, they will be focusing on products whose design and aesthetic are top-quality and are recyclable or can even take on a new life secondhand,” they say in the talk description.
More Ethical, More Durable, More Wellness
Other digital talks focusing on ethical values — caring, durability, recycling — likewise drew our attention.
Care. Antoine Fenoglio (Les Sismo), Marilyne Goulard, (Tarkett) and Eric de Thoisy (SCAU) discussed the power of architecture to do good and the manner in which we can face the present crises, in a talk titled “Caring Architecture.” “The point of care is not to overdramatize, but to approach our interiors by tackling the problem of vulnerability head on,” de Thoisy says.
Durability and recycling. Virginie Corbasson, director of European development at Calin, and Virginie Mourouvin, style expert there, explored the trend of neo-vintage and secondhand goods as new growth opportunities for brands. “Amidst economic troubles and a lack of meaning, active consumers have been sharpening their pragmatic approach during this health crisis. Going forward, they will be focusing on products whose design and aesthetic are top-quality and are recyclable or can even take on a new life secondhand,” they say in the talk description.
Chameleon Inge natural home from Marta
Finally, architect Marie Deroudilhe and Quentin Hirsinger, president of MatériO’, were featured in a talk titled “Sustainable Interiors and Materials: The Quandary.” They discussed the fact that the choice of construction materials often comes down to a more complex equation than just pure durability. “There are no good materials or bad materials, it’s all about using them well,” Hirsinger says.
Deroudilhe, imagining each project as a durable entity, says that “reuse and vintage pieces could easily represent 60% of a project, against 40% new things.” To make that work, it’s vital to preserve that which already exists and to have no fear of mixing the modern and the old in purposeful anachronisms.
6 Nordic Design Trends to Watch in 2020
Finally, architect Marie Deroudilhe and Quentin Hirsinger, president of MatériO’, were featured in a talk titled “Sustainable Interiors and Materials: The Quandary.” They discussed the fact that the choice of construction materials often comes down to a more complex equation than just pure durability. “There are no good materials or bad materials, it’s all about using them well,” Hirsinger says.
Deroudilhe, imagining each project as a durable entity, says that “reuse and vintage pieces could easily represent 60% of a project, against 40% new things.” To make that work, it’s vital to preserve that which already exists and to have no fear of mixing the modern and the old in purposeful anachronisms.
6 Nordic Design Trends to Watch in 2020
Designer Ramy Fischler, left, founder of RF Studio, and Philippe Brocart, director general of Maison & Objet, speak at the digital talk “Design, and … Action!”
Design Reinvents Itself to Imagine the World of Tomorrow
In an interview with Philippe Brocart, director general of Maison & Objet, designer Ramy Fischler evoked the renewal of design and the new ways of producing. “We are forced to think about the world after in a hurry,” he says.
Design Fiction is the solution proposed by RF Studio, the agency Fischler founded in 2011 and which now has about 20 collaborators. “Design fiction” refers to a school of thought that has existed for a decade: Instead of new products being created through classic industrial steps (plans, scale models), they occur through fiction — storytelling — and video.
Design Reinvents Itself to Imagine the World of Tomorrow
In an interview with Philippe Brocart, director general of Maison & Objet, designer Ramy Fischler evoked the renewal of design and the new ways of producing. “We are forced to think about the world after in a hurry,” he says.
Design Fiction is the solution proposed by RF Studio, the agency Fischler founded in 2011 and which now has about 20 collaborators. “Design fiction” refers to a school of thought that has existed for a decade: Instead of new products being created through classic industrial steps (plans, scale models), they occur through fiction — storytelling — and video.
Sens Fiction exhibit in Lille, France, conceived by RF Studio. Photo by MEL-Anouk Desury-Light Motiv
Fischler communicates with millennials by using one of the most popular forms of media, the TV series. Four episodes have already been produced, on the question of living things in the kitchen (in an episode titled “Eco & Living Kitchen"); the place of new technologies in our interiors ("Smart and Friendly Home"); trends introduced through co-living and coworking ("Co-Living & Work"); and fun and well-being in the home ("Play & Care").
“My subject is less in the creation of objects than of ecosystems,” Fischler says. “If you want to build the city of tomorrow — for example, to reinvent the greater Paris area or the pedagogy in a school — you can’t do that in a PowerPoint or a model.”
Design fiction is therefore a direction for the future, a future that speaks to those who have grown up in the postindustrial era, strongly digitalized since the 2000s.
Fischler’s series can be found on his social networks and on the Maison & Objet website, as well as at the Sens Fiction exhibit in Lille, France, (pictured) through Nov. 15, 2020.
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Fischler communicates with millennials by using one of the most popular forms of media, the TV series. Four episodes have already been produced, on the question of living things in the kitchen (in an episode titled “Eco & Living Kitchen"); the place of new technologies in our interiors ("Smart and Friendly Home"); trends introduced through co-living and coworking ("Co-Living & Work"); and fun and well-being in the home ("Play & Care").
“My subject is less in the creation of objects than of ecosystems,” Fischler says. “If you want to build the city of tomorrow — for example, to reinvent the greater Paris area or the pedagogy in a school — you can’t do that in a PowerPoint or a model.”
Design fiction is therefore a direction for the future, a future that speaks to those who have grown up in the postindustrial era, strongly digitalized since the 2000s.
Fischler’s series can be found on his social networks and on the Maison & Objet website, as well as at the Sens Fiction exhibit in Lille, France, (pictured) through Nov. 15, 2020.
More on Houzz
Read more stories about design events
Browse photos for ideas and inspiration
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Love the natural wood & fabrics. The wood minimalist furniture reads”mid-century modern” to me. One of my favorite design styles!
So interesting. How the world has changed in such a short space of time!! Good to hear Gen Y is likely to accent re-useable and lasting products. We live in a digital world, which will remain, but a more relaxed and meaningful approach to home/working life can only be a plus!
Love some of the ideas posted - but don't see any of the traditional styles - ie Ralph Lauren furniture/design which was at the Milan event too. Love their throw cusions and objects for decoration.