Celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2020, Maison et Objet’s new digital fair format is almost like a Christmas countdown advent calendar where excitement builds with the knowledge that each ‘window’ can be opened to reveal a treasure. Maison et Objet have enlarged this concept by translating the signature look of each brand’s physical stand as a digital ‘mirror’ version where objects are clickable ‘windows’ that reveal product and pricing information, while a double click connects buyers or specifiers to brands and designers. In addition to digital showrooms, a complementary digital platform will showcase products and quicken searches.
Luxury rug brands present at the fair include Zollanvari, Kilims ADA, EBRU, and Rug’Society. COVER chatted with Sebastian Ghandchi of Zollanvari for his take on the opportunities presented by the new digital format:
‘We are members of MOM [the Maison et Objet and More year-round online experience] which gives us automatic participation in the digital fair, but we decided it was a great opportunity to expand our presence and show many more designs. We’re excited about our new video which will show our new designs in situ in a virtual gallery. We’ll be sending a Press Release and invitations to all our clients and followers to view the “show” online. We’ll also back up our participation with extensive postings on our social media channels.
We bought one of the additional packages that were offered to digital exhibitors who are also on MOM. We will have 50 images showing the full range of our production… a bit like taking a stand without being there! So over and above our new designs we will have kilims (Flatweaves Minimalist and Tribal), jajims [a striped warp-faced flatweave], mafrashes [traditional storage bags] in all shapes, sizes and finishes from our Home Decor collections, our best selling carpet/gabbeh designs from the Kyoto, Rainfall, Ghashgha’i meets Bauhaus, our Designer Isfahan collection (Anar, Gloss, Jeziorak, etc.), and our signature Baluch Soumak carpets.’
Maison & Objet is renowned as a year-round source of design inspiration. Its online MOM platform, participation in Paris Design Week, and social media channels all create anticipation for M&O’s twice-yearly fair. Visitors to the new digital fair will recognise M&O’s signature look and find all the bonuses (now offered digitally) we’ve come to love like talks, seminars, presentations, podcasts. Although visitors will miss IRL interactions and the ability to touch and feel products, the opportunity to step back and take a more relaxed approach to visiting hundreds of stands is a welcome alternative during the global challenges presented by COVID-19.
