Parisian designer Vincent Darré’s fantastical collection with OKA includes the Spiral Lamp & Shade, XIV Mirror, Gemini Vase and Lyric Console Table. (Photo Courtesy OKA)
As British retailer OKA expands its horizons stateside—it arrived in Dallas last November and will open in Westport, Connecticut, in September—a new collection with French designer Vincent Darré is next on the agenda.
Darré, a former fashion heavyweight, captured the imagination of Sue Jones, Co-Founder and Creative Director of OKA, with his Cocteau-esque interiors. “Seeing Vincent’s work in the flesh excited me about the prospect of a collaboration,” recalls Jones after an early visit to Darré’s Paris atelier. “Everything he touches has a sense of drama to it.”
For the duo’s tightly edited four-piece collection, Darré channeled OKA’s aristocratic-meets-bohemian style—a look that reminds him of photographer Cecil Beaton’s work—while also referencing the Neoclassical era and romantic 18th-century gardens. The result? Furnishings that work just as well in a group as they do individually.
Included are a marble-topped console supported by ancient ruin-inspired legs, a column-like floor lamp (its spiral shade reminds Jones of a Philip Treacy hat), a black-and-white Grecian face vase and a mirror embellished with musical instruments and starfish.
The playful collaboration allowed Jones and Darré to have a little fun while still championing true craftsmanship and creative ingenuity.
