12 December 2016 // Puck Gall //Amsterdam

//VINCENT DARRÉ

One of the first interiors I ever fell in love with must have been from Vincent Darré. I saw the pictures Todd Selby took of his apartment in Paris. A fantastic multi colored house with different rooms everywhere. The furniture and other artifacts were so extreme and fun that it feels almost like a movie set from Fellini.

Vincent has had a long career in Fashion, he worked for Saint Laurent, Prada, French Vogue, Moschino but for most with Karl Lagerfeld at Fendi. He has a great sense of style and describes himself as “an anarchist of taste”. However his interests lie way beyond fashion alone. Working for these various houses Vincent developed his love for set dressing and furniture. After he got fired from his last fashion job as the creative director of Ungaro, he decided to focus more on this passion. He opened Maison Darré where he began designing child like, fun and surrealistic furniture. He says the Fashion industry had made him cynical and therefor furniture felt refreshing and a little more innocent.

He thinks of himself as a punk and describes surrealist as the first real punks, because they had no boundaries. This is exactly what I find appealing about his designs. His furniture triggers me to think differently about a chair in general. He takes the freedom of surrealism to put absurd perspectives in interiors. No wonder he designed the new headquarters of Schiaparelli.

Personally I am not even the biggest surrealists fan but Vincent knows how to balance it just right. His work is humoristic but very classy, it is kitsch without being trashy and he uses only the most beautiful colors.

Vincent is unique an energetic spirit that celebrates life to the fullest, also in his lifestyle. He escaped the fashion circus, which has only made him more adventurous. I would blindly hand him the keys to my house and give the man a carte blanche to do whatever he feels like. Who wouldn’t!