The 2019 Design Parade Festival Is a Total Visual Overload — In the Best Possible Way

If you’ve ever looked closely at coverage of the annual Design Parade festival in France — which began at the Villa Noailles in Hyères in 2006 and expanded to include the neighboring town of Toulon in 2016 — we’re guessing that like us, your reaction was probably a mixture of bafflement and awe. How do they manage to get so many new objects and new ideas in one (tiny) place, not to mention so many balls-to-the-wall interiors with what appear to be no-expense-spared, move-in-tomorrow production values? The answer lies somewhere between the show’s lofty reputation — bolstered by its ability to attract bold-faced names like Hella Jongerius, Naoto Fukasawa, and the Bouroullecs as competition judges — and its status as a beloved French cultural institution, which comes along with sponsorships by the likes of Van Cleef & Arpels, Chanel, Vitra, Phaidon, et al. In any case, it’s a magical alchemy that puts Design Parade practically on the level of the Milan Furniture Fair in terms of the volume of visual inspiration it provides for designers and design lovers. Below is a sprawling overview of nearly everything that’s on view in Hyères and Touloun, now through September 29.

PHOTOS BY JPPM/LUC BERTRAND

Studio Haddou Dufourcq at Design Parade Toulon

After winning a grand prize in last year’s interiors competition in Toulon, French studio Haddou Dufourcq got to reprise their participation this year with Fenêtres sur Cours, a living room that mixes up eras and influences, from ancient Rome to the 70s to North Africa.
DesignParadeToulon_Studio Haddou Dufourcq_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 16 DesignParadeToulon_Studio Haddou Dufourcq_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 18 DesignParadeToulon_Studio Haddou Dufourcq_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 11 DesignParadeToulon_Studio Haddou Dufourcq_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 14 DesignParadeToulon_Studio Haddou Dufourcq_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 7

Francois Champsaur at Design Parade Toulon

The Parisian interior designer — who’s also president of the Toulon competition jury — created an exhibition that “questions the relationship between man and nature,” in five separate scenes, our favorite being “Creative Laziness: To reconnect with the benefits of laying down and doing nothing.”
DesignParadeToulon_Francois Champsaur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand 43 DesignParadeToulon_Francois Champsaur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand 23 DesignParadeToulon_Francois Champsaur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand 38 DesignParadeToulon_Francois Champsaur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand 29 DesignParadeToulon_Francois Champsaur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand 11

Lucas Djaou at Design Parade Toulon

Djaou did the design for an exhibition in the Cercle Naval du Toulon — a historical monument that was once a gathering place for naval officers — that showcases the building’s archives and history while channeling its original 1930s design, by architect André Maurice. So into Djaou’s little wooden chair.
DesignParadeToulon_CercleNaval_Lucas Djaou_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 3 DesignParadeToulon_CercleNaval_Lucas Djaou_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2 DesignParadeToulon_CercleNaval_Lucas Djaou_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 1

10 Interior Designers Competition at Design Parade Toulon

The fourth annual Design Parade Toulon competition for architecture and interior design was won by a duo that made a green bathroom entirely out of Marseilles soap, but the images below prove the competition — decided by a jury that included Karen Chekerdjian and Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance — was fierce. (Don’t miss the 10th project, which we featured yesterday.)
10ArchitectsToulon_Victoria Ayayi & Gabriel Vuillemin_Farniente_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 108 10ArchitectsToulon_Victoria Ayayi & Gabriel Vuillemin_Farniente_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 106Victoria Ayayi and Gabriel Vuillemin
10ArchitectsToulon_Simon Moisiere & Jean Rodet_Villegiature minimale - 4Simon Moisière and Jean Rodet
10ArchitectsToulon_Lisa Egio & Elliot Kervyn_Tamate_1 10ArchitectsToulon_Lisa Egio & Elliot Kervyn_Tamate_12 10ArchitectsToulon_Lisa Egio & Elliot Kervyn_Tamate_2Lisa Egio and Elliot Kervyn
10ArchitectsToulon_Celine Thibault & Geraud Pellottiero_Zou Mae_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 3 10ArchitectsToulon_Celine Thibault & Geraud Pellottiero_Zou Mae_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2 10ArchitectsToulon_Celine Thibault & Geraud Pellottiero_Zou Mae_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 1Céline Thibault and Géraud Pellottiero
10ArchitectsToulon_Audrey Guimard & Berenice Golmann-Pupponi_Apricari_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 98 10ArchitectsToulon_Audrey Guimard & Berenice Golmann-Pupponi_Apricari_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 92Audrey Guimard and Bérénice Golmann-Pupponi
10ArchitectsToulon_Maximilien Pellet & Zoe Piter_L'anti chambre d'un toit-terrasse - 123 10ArchitectsToulon_Maximilien Pellet & Zoe Piter_L'anti chambre d'un toit-terrasse - 127Zoé Piter and Maximilien Pellet
10ArchitectsToulon_Maeva Prigent_Epair_3 10ArchitectsToulon_Maeva Prigent_Epair_15 10ArchitectsToulon_Maeva Prigent_Epair_7Maéva Prigent
10ArchitectsToulon_Hugo Poirier & Pauline Bailay_Detour - 138 10ArchitectsToulon_Hugo Poirier & Pauline Bailay_Detour - 146 10ArchitectsToulon_Hugo Poirier & Pauline Bailay_Detour - 136 Hugo Poirier and Pauline Bailay 10ArchitectsToulon_Hugo Dubray_Un jardin dinterieur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 1 10ArchitectsToulon_Hugo Dubray_Un jardin dinterieur_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 4Hugo Dubray

Sara De Campos at Design Parade Hyères

After winning the grand prize in last year’s 10 Designers competition, ECAL grad De Campos got a residency at the French glass institution CIRVA and a solo exhibition at this year’s festival to showcase the results. (She also added in ceramics made with Sèvres.)
DesignParadeHyeres_Sara De Campos_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 3 DesignParadeHyeres_Sara De Campos_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 11 DesignParadeHyeres_Sara De Campos_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 9 DesignParadeHyeres_Sara De Campos_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 14 DesignParadeHyeres_Sara De Campos_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 10

Jean Hugo at Design Parade Hyères, Design By Studio Haddou Dufourcq

In the Villa Noailles’s pink-walled exhibition room, Haddou Dufourcq brought to life a retrospective of work by the late French artist and set/costume designer — and friend of Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles — Jean Hugo, even recreating one of his set designs in three dimensions (seen below).
DesignParadeHyeres_Jean Hugo_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2 DesignParadeHyeres_Jean Hugo_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 12 DesignParadeHyeres_Jean Hugo_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 8 DesignParadeHyeres_Jean Hugo_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 6

10 Designers Competition at Design Parade Hyères

Below is a selection of our favorite entries into this year’s design competition in Hyères, which you can do further reading on here (click on “the finalists” at the top).
10DesignersHyeres_Flavien Delberg_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 3 10DesignersHyeres_Flavien Delberg_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 10Flavien Delberg 10DesignersHyeres_Carlo Kurth & June Fàbregas_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 4Carlo Kurth & June Fàbregas 10DesignersHyeres_Gregory Granados_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 7 10DesignersHyeres_Gregory Granados_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2Gregory Granados 10DesignersHyeres_Leyla Desrosiers-Arslanian Charlotte Barbeau-Desjardins_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2Leyla Desrosiers-Arslanian & Charlotte Barbeau Desjardins 10DesignersHyeres_Sho Ota_JPPM-Luc Bertrand - 2Sho Ota

Mathieu Lehanneur Exhibition at Design Parade Hyères

The festival also included a retrospective of recent work by Mathieu Lehanneur, writing that “in his work, biology brushes shoulders with the artisanal, primitive nature is blended with digital tools, and passing time plays with the weather; like a brief history of humanity.”
DesignParadeHyeres_MathieuLehanneur_Felipe Ribon_1 DesignParadeHyeres_MathieuLehanneur_Felipe Ribon_2

Nouvelles Vagues Exhibition, Design by India Mahdavi

India Mahdavi was tapped to design an exhibition of furniture from the Centre Pompidou’s design collection, which was organized into three sections: one on the deckchair and chaise longue, one on Pop Art furniture, and one on inflatables.Nouvelles vagues_JPPM-Luc Bertrand_2893 Nouvelles vagues - © India Mahdavi - IMG_5514 P Nouvelles vagues - © India Mahdavi - TOULON 1-p3