Objets Nomades, Louis Vuitton’s furniture label, has returned to Design Miami, the occasion that marked its launch four years ago. Inspired by the brand’s iconic trunk, along with its history as a malletier, the line attempts to capture the ethos of luxury travel. Over the years, with stints during Salone del Mobile in Milan and at the Rodeo Drive boutique in Beverly Hills, it has expanded with various commissions from designers like Patricia Urquiola, Maarten Baas, Barber Osgerby, and more.
Though it’s been around the world, this is its first time exhibiting on Design Miami’s premises. As it’s been in past editions, the presentation features new pieces: the Blossom stool by Japanese designer Tokujin Yoshioka, and a fur-lined hanging chair, the Cocoon, by Sao-Paulo-based brothers Fernando and Humberto Campana.
While they may not fit in an overhead compartment, both items subtly allude to the wanderlust at the heart of Objets Nomades. Yoshioka’s stool, in leather or brass, consists of four petal-like components that wind together to form the base and splay out for the seat, simulating the quatrefoils of the house’s monogram. “For me, traveling is more of a journey through time,” says Yoshioka. Indeed, not only is the pattern one that’s accompanied countless travelers on their adventures for over a century, but it evokes the growth and transformation that happens along the way.
Meanwhile, the Campana Brothers have softened their original fiberglass Cocoon, from the Milan Objets Nomades in 2015, with short-hair lambskin upholstery. Suspended on a steel and brass hook, the pod envelops sitters in plush cushions. Don’t get too comfortable, though. “The fur cocoon creates a disconnect, a game between two different forms,” says Humberto Campana. “It’s comfort and protection versus the dark animal.”
Like the Blossom stool, the Cocoon evokes the idea of a natural metamorphosis—really, the best sort of journey, where the end is a new beginning.
From top: Blossom stool. Cocoon chair. (Photos: Courtesy Louis Vuitton)
