Q&A

What attracted you to the idea of designing an Objet Nomade for Louis Vuitton?

For me, what attracts me is the perfect balance between taste and life, history and dream, craft and modernity in Objets Nomades. In fact, this is also a very important value when we design. As a designer from China, we definitely have a different cultural background, and we seek to think about our identity further in this project. However, the true spirit which I think we all have in common, regardless of regional culture and background, is that we have an outstanding attitude towards life.

What were the inspirations for your Objet?

One of the first inspirations is that we were thinking about China's influence on our daily life, including our society, environment, culture, history, and nature. Therefore, at that time, terraced fields in China attracted me and stuck in my mind. Of course, terraced fields do not only exist in China. We could see that there are many other countries and regions with similar landforms, but after all, it began from here. This starting point gave rise to more natural sensations of different regions, and the nature of these regions which drew clues in my mind. Beneath these clues we found the threads of time. And this idea of time exists in many states. Could you describe your

Objet in a sentence?

A sculpture that enables a conversation with time

Biography

Designer Frank Chou grew up in Beijing, China, where in 2012 he founded Frank Chou Design Studio as a space to imagine and produce his elegantly experimental designs that blend the traditional and contemporary, the Chinese and international. Chou and the studio have since won several high-profile prizes, including the best young designer at the ELLE DECO International Design Awards. In 2016, he was awarded the SaloneSatellite Award during Milan Design Week and the Rising Talent Awards China in 2019 at Maison&Objet in Paris. Chou’s “responsible design” is the embodiment of his idea to keep capturing the essence of materials and objects, and create elegant and significant design pieces.