Celebrated French design house Liaigre has debuted a new book, Creation. Published by Rizzoli, the 360-page tome—written by art historian Françoise-Claire Prodhon—highlights five exceptional Liaigre-designed homes, spanning the world from New Delhi to St. Moritz, Munich to Japan and, of course, Paris.
Founder Christian Liaigre departed the company in 2016 and Creative Director Frauke Meyer, who’s worked alongside the visionary since 1998, has been in the driver’s seat since. Luxe caught up with Meyer to chat about the brand, its legacy and the future.
At what point did the house of Liaigre know it would publish a book?
It was decided several years ago already when Christian Liaigre stepped back from the company. I wanted to raise the curtain on our creative processes and invite the reader into the intimacy of Studio Liaigre, highlighting the projects not only through beautiful images, but also introduce them through the inspiration and moodboards that lead to their creation and conception.
But this isn’t your average coffee table book.
I wanted the book to look like a notebook more than a coffee table book, giving priority to a personal and sensitive approach, leading to an object which would be less finished and stiff than coffee table books can be.
The introduction describes Christian’s work ethic as ‘never stopping at their initial convictions.’ What are some other practices or lessons you adopted from working together?
I was formed by Christian Liaigre and learned a lot from seeing him acting and thinking. Design-wise, the most striking experience I had over the years was learning to see from another point of view and to pay attention to details that seem to be secondary at first glance but become essential when you put them in light.
The variety of materials in each project really makes the design stand out.
Absolutely. Liaigre is known and respected for using the most exclusive, natural, fine materials existing, should they be essences of wood, bronze, leather, marble, lacquer, silk—they are at the very heart and at the very start of all our creative gestures.
From your vantage point, what marks the success of a beautifully designed space?
I am respectful toward radical designs. You can easily feel when a space has been thought through from the beginning to the end by an architect who understands space and light.
What is on the horizon for Liaigre?
Our furniture & lighting collection originally came from pieces designed within the frame of interior architecture projects. At the moment my team and I are working on the 2021 collection, which will be available throughout our thirty showrooms in the world.
If Liaigre’s legacy could be summarized in a few words, what would they be?
Consistency, precision and proportions.
