Initially decorators, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg founded their agency in 1980 in Toronto after meeting at design school. Between flamboyance and romanticism, the duo first made a name for themselves by reinventing the notion of luxury through classy design projects, such as those for the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto and the Vuitton boutique in Hong Kong. After a few years, their studio was enriched with a branch in New York, and today has a hundred collaborators. Now developing a multidisciplinary approach, the designers design not only interiors, but also furniture and objects, whether for their own brand (Departo, launched in 2019) or for others. For Tribù, in 2020, they created Elio, an outdoor armchair that plays with sunlight. For Cinna, they have designed the Pukka sofa, whose organic shapes pay homage to Gaetano Pesce and his famous UP50 series. And for the marble manufacturer Salvatori, the duo has created the Anima bathtub and is participating in the poetic “The Village” project, alongside world-famous design stars such as Pawson, Urquiola, and Dordoni. Now omnipotent, Yabu & Pushelberg conceive each of their projects around four immutable principles: ” A context, a craft, a story, and a lot of curiosity.” ” In 2021, after unveiling the interior design of La Samaritaine, the duo will reveal that of The Londoner, the world’s first “super-boutique” hotel, which will open in Leicester Square in September after eight years of work.

By Pierre Lesieur