New French concept store, La Manufacture

The new lifestyle brand has combined French flair and innovative design with Italian craftsmanship

A concept store in the truest sense of the word, La Manufacture brings together fashion and homeware in its eponymous Paris boutique. Launched in January, it was a long-held vision of CEO Robert Acouri, who runs contract office furniture company Cider. ‘The collection was designed as a family of products that can work harmoniously in different environments, whether it’s a home or a hotel,’ explains industrial designer Luca Nichetto, who is the

‘THE COLLECTION WAS DESIGNED TO WORK HARMONIOUSLY IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS’

brand’s art director. ‘I believe in a holistic approach, so I asked a number of designers to each create furniture or accessories in the same style but a range of typologies.’

The result is a series of minimalist, modern pieces designed by the likes of Patrick Norguet, Ben Gorham (founder of fragrance brand Byredo) and Todd Bracher. Set within a cohesive colour palette, the designs feature tones used in prominent architectural buildings, such as Jean Prouvé’s Maison Tropicale, Antti Lovag’s Palais Bulles and Gio Ponti’s Villa Planchart. Sebastian Herkner’s contribution includes the decorative metal ‘Venier’ screen divider with criss-crossed woven leather; Nendo has designed a ‘Stack’ sofa that appears to be a pair of cushions strewn next to each other; and Nichetto has created a Murano glass ‘Tima’ pendant light, whose watery bubbles and distorted patterns were inspired by jellyfish.

The exception to the Italy-only production rule are the abstract ‘Playtime’ rugs by Emma Boomkamp. Influenced by childhood games, each rug is hand-woven and hand-tufted in Mexico. ‘The idea is that, with every collection, we will introduce a piece that celebrates artisan techniques from a different part of the world,’ says Nichetto, already looking ahead. ‘With this first collection, we wanted to do something timeless that will give the brand its identity.’ And in that, he has succeeded. lamanufacture-paris.fr

Above La Manufacture’s chic Paris store, featuring Sebastian Herkner’s ‘Venier’ screen, left, Nichetto’s ‘Tima’ light above it, and Nendo’s ‘Stack’ sofa in the centre Below ‘Linus’ chair by Marco Dessi and ‘Astra’ coffee table by Patrick Norguet Right The store unites fashion and homeware