©Louis Vuitton Malletier - Géraldine Aresteanu

Q&A

Why did you agree to create an Objet Nomade for Louis Vuitton?
I’ve lived in Cambridge, Heidelberg, Venice and New York. I’m a nomad. I love movement and I think happiness is closely connected to an open, cosmopolitan mind: my life is all about melting pots, mixes, colours, exchanging and sharing. Working for Objets Nomades makes perfect sense, from the design phase to the development. The idea that luxury can be defined through a design exercise, hand in hand with the best craftsmen, is what I have always supported.

What is more important: form or function?
I often say that design is about giving function a form, sometimes by freeing the form and sometimes the function. When I designed this table, I immediately thought about revisiting those famous oriental side tables, both nomadic and hybrid, appearing for tea and disappearing for the siesta. I imagined the table like a leather book, on the theme of luck. The leather-inlay iris is the illustration of “The Story of Good Luck”, from which a djinn might have escaped, somewhere in between the skies, the earth and the waters. Everything is connected: the function embraces the idea of luck and protection, a sort of antidote to the evil eye. Side table has been inspired by a talisman and embodies the Mediterranean tradition and hospitality – which I deeply relate to.

Why did you choose the name?
“The Story of Good Luck” could be the title of a tale, and that’s exactly how I like to see this table. Today, things don’t seem quite right in the world and I wanted this object to be a talisman. The “talisman” table is a lucky charm to ward off bad spirits.
 

“Design is about giving function a form.”
India Mahdavi

Biography

After studying architecture, industrial, graphic and furniture design, India Mahdavi spent seven years as creative director for interior designer Christian Liaigre. She founded her own studio in 2000 and, from her base on Rue Las Cases in Paris, has since worked internationally on interior-design, scenography, furniture and object-design projects. These have included restaurants and hotels, such as The Gallery at sketch in London, Ladurée in Geneva and Los Angeles, and The Monte Carlo Beach Hotel; retail concepts, most recently, Red Valentino in Rome and London; and a line of furniture and home accessories, including her trademark Charlotte armchairs. She describes her style as “polyglot and polychrome”.