HOMETOWN

Born in Paris, live in London

OCCUPATION

Designer

WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND THE CREATIVE WORLD?

The shared appreciation for the notion of dreaming, that unites like-minded people. I love the freedom of expression it offers, allowing me to turn any idea into a tangible piece or concept, sharing it with others. Seeing people enjoy what I've created brings me immense joy and is a really powerful tool of emotional connection, I think.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM ART AND DESIGN COLLECTION? 

I’m not very fussy, if sky is the limit I'd simply strip the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice of all its art and move everything to my house (which I still need to buy). I am a huge admirer of Peggy Guggenheim and the incredible life she led, as well as the bold and impeccable choices she made as a collector. She notably collected during my favorite era of art: Surrealism (featuring Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, André Breton, etc), Cubism, Dadaism, and Abstract Expressionism with artists like Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko. The curation there is fabulous and it is the main reason why I keep going back to Venice.

I have a soft spot for the magnificent headboard designed by Alexander Calder there. In fact, it inspired one of my own collections. I designed a mobile earring to pay tribute to Calder. I could also have the Brancusi sculpture in my bathroom, because sky is the limit. Speaking of the sky, I’d hang Magritte’s “Empire of Light” painting in my bedroom!! If you're familiar with my work, you'll know that I am a dreamer and a fantasist.

As a child, I often envisioned escape, which might explain my strong connection to the Surrealist movement. I believe that all art created in the post-war era possesses profound strength, emerging as it did during trauma-laden times when the longing for escape, imagination, and absurdity had to take center stage.

Design wise! I love a mix of different eras of design, I am a little bit of a hoarder and compulsive buyer when it comes to furniture, so I often update accessories and home decor. I love antique pieces which make me feel like a real adult at home (guilty of Peter Pan syndrome), combined with contemporary finds.

I like strange looking objects that can be a conversation opener and have a story to tell. I am passionate about designs that bring art into functionality, just like my work does.

DEFINE YOUR STYLE IN THREE WORDS

Comfortable, feminine, goth? (I love wearing black!)

FAVOURITE FASHION, FURNITURE OR PRODUCT DESIGNERS

Fashion:  I’m in awe of what Pieter muller is doing for Maison Alaia at the moment, and I’ve also been mesmerised by Daniel Roseberry’s work for Schiaparelli. If you haven't seen the show, it is on Youtube, and let me tell you it is a total immersion in a dreamlike world!

The collection beautifully blended artistry and high fashion, showcasing designs that felt like wearable art! Every detail was so captivating, the music choice, staging, all of it! 

Furniture:  Obsessed with the German designer Ingo Maurer and all his spectacular lamps. He plays with conventional notions of brightness, shadow, and color to create works of art in each lamp. I highly recommend visiting his showroom in NYC. My ultimate dream is to have his ceiling lamp “Porca Miseria” in my kitchen. It features an explosion of porcelain plates, forks, knives, around the lighting source. It is sensational! 

I will also mention Nicola L, a brilliant french woman designer who translated playfulness and feminism into pieces of furniture that spoke for themselves, like that iconic female shaped chest of drawers. The hand chair from Pedro Friedberg (Mexican surrealist designer) is also one of my all time favourites, the heart chair from Verner Panton, and the Zigzag chair from Gerrit Rietvelt. Gio Ponti and Gaetano Pesce are also on my Italian love list, Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier on my French love list!

SIGNATURE SCENT

I have been wearing the same perfume I’ve been wearing since I was 12: Oh Oui de Lancome. I don’t think anybody likes it but me as I barely get two compliments a year on it, one being from my mother!

Home: Cire Trudon “Abd El Khader” candle is unanimously the best scent any parfumer has ever created (People always compliment the scent in my flat, unlike my perfume).

SIGNATURE LOOK

Day time it’s really simple: a cosy pair of trousers, often low-rise because in my head I’m still a teenager, with leather boots (I have 12 pairs of Doc Martens oops), and a fun T shirt under a cashmere jumper if it’s winter.

My party dressing is really unpredictable, often way too much skin showing, and can’t particularly be qualified as chic, sorry mum!

HOMETOWN FAVOURITE HANGOUTS

I'm enamoured with London and could list hundreds but will limit myself to what comes randomly in mind: Prince Charles cinema to go see an old classic film, Alfie’s antique on Church Street for fabulous furniture, Grays antique for an endless selection of vintage jewellery, Borough Market (Padella for fab pasta), Maison Francois when I miss France (focus on the dessert trolley!), Spacetalk bar in Clerkenwell for a cosy boogie (design fanatics will be in heaven), KOKO jazz and electronic for their immaculate music program, Jazz cafe for the warm atmosphere of world music, Roundhouse for the incredible venue and 360 sound system, Street-food markets in Brixton (go try Venezuelan arepas), Brunswick house gastro pub for the magical flavours, triple cooked chips or naughty tuna melt, and gorgeous decor with all the glass chandeliers, Tamil Prince for unforgettable Indian pub food, Barbican for the iconic architecture, walk around Mayfair and Fitrovia during art gallery day, the V&A top floor, Julia Ransom’s house, maybe I stop now!!

THE MOST MAGICAL TRIP YOU HAVE TAKEN AND ADVENTURE YOU ARE LONGING TO TAKE

I'm much more a city traveller than a nature explorer, I must admit. I love discovering cities through their cultural institutions like museums, food spots, music venues, markets.

I somehow have very bad luck when it comes to nature, like being stuck in the middle of a hike in windy and dark Lake District in tears, being eaten alive by flies in Machu Picchu, resulting in serious complications, or coming back with 25 mosquito bites on the same foot from my exploration in Siwa, Egypt.

Nevertheless, the most magical trip I can recall was still outdoors. I rock climbed in Joshua Tree last year and the feeling of liberation was unparalleled, not to mention the breathtaking views. I happened to be very good at it, which is a mystery, but am hoping to renew this experience soon.

I’m currently planning a trip to Algeria, my parents homeland, this spring with my mum and a girl friend of mine who’s an incredibly knowledgeable and talented Tunisian chef. I'm going to discover all the wonders of Algerian gastronomy, which is strangely unknown internationally, with the hope of starting a supper club when I’m back, to share the love.

FAVOURITE PIECE FROM RANSOM & DUNN'S CURRENT COLLECTION

It’s so hard to pick! As I love everything humanoid and surrealist, I’d say the planter is really genius and gorgeous, to me it looks like the collar of a shirt, making the plant look like a person (maybe I’m the only one to envision this!).

The sofas are also undeniably phenomenal, where beauty meets comfort which is really rare! I can’t wait to have one at home, when I buy a home!