Every September, Paris Design Week illuminates the capital by revealing both the avant-garde and the heritage of the crafts. For the 2025 edition, the theme of know-how resonates with particular intensity: it's not just about celebrating gestures passed down from generation to generation, but also about showing how they are being reinvented today. This year, the program pays tribute to French excellence while recalling a symbolic date: the style Art DécoA symbol of refinement and modernity, it celebrates its centenary. Between crystal, wool, wood and pigments, Paris becomes the stage for a true sensory journey where craftsmanship and contemporary design intertwine.
Lalique, air as matter
It's impossible to discuss French craftsmanship without mentioning Lalique, the company founded in 1888 by the visionary artist René Lalique. Renowned worldwide for its crystal, it has consistently embodied audacity, elegance, and innovation. For Paris Design Week's "Savoir-faire" theme, Lalique has chosen the element of Air as its source of inspiration.
Lightness, transparency, movement: each piece explores the invisible. In an immersive scenography, breath becomes matter, light becomes palpable. Delicately crafted crystals, ethereal reflections, suspended volumes… everything seems to defy gravity. More than a collection, it is a meditation on the essence of breath, a poetry of the intangible.
This creation underscores Lalique's ability to draw upon its glassmaking heritage while engaging with contemporary design. By transforming air into tangible art, the Maison reminds us that craftsmanship is not merely about transmission, but about continuous invention.
Oh my wool! Sublime French fiber
Another highlight of Paris Design Week's expertise is the Oh my laine! showcase, initiated by the Lainamac association. Its objective is clear: to highlight French wool, a local and sustainable resource, through the eyes of contemporary designers.
Ten talents were selected by a jury of experts to present their worlds:
- Candice Aubert-Dhô and its wall decorations,
- Emily Borgeaud et Christine Piel with their delicate felt-tip pens,
- Florence Wuillai and his work on knitting,
- Font & Romani who are reinventing weaving,
- Form of House, exploring textile furniture,
- Loulennoffering bedding accessories,
- Ludifile Workshop and its carpets,
- Maraté Studio in textile publishing
- Marine Featherwhich enhances felt through painting.
Each of these works demonstrates how wool can transcend its rustic image to become a refined and poetic material. In the context of ecological transition, this emphasis on local fibers embodies a responsible approach, where beauty is combined with ethics. Wool, worked in filigree or in three dimensions, becomes texture, landscape, a medium for storytelling.
Lux Naturale, nature reinvented
At Galerie 78 Temple, gallery owner Pauline Carretta signs Lux Naturale, a group exhibition entirely dedicated to contemporary female artists. Here, traditional skills engage in dialogue with an intimate vision of nature.
Each designer develops a unique language:
- Rachel Altabas It consists of ceramic bas-reliefs inspired by vegetation,
- Beatrice Bissara creates sculpted object-paintings that explore sensory perceptions,
- Céline Camilleri, Anne Feat-Gaiss, Anouck Manzoni, Irina Rasquinet et Camille Vignaud They work with paper, wool, wood, earth and pigments to reinvent our relationship with living things.
The exhibition offers a sensory immersion where each material is sublimely showcased: wool lace, sculpted paper, delicate embroidery, colored clays. More than just a display case, Lux Naturale is an ode to the creative power of women and to the ability of design to magnify nature without freezing it.
A journey woven between heritage and avant-garde
Lalique, French wool and Lux Naturale three looks, three gestures, three ways of showing that the know-how These are the foundation of a living design. This journey illustrates how tradition can become a driving force for innovation. From the ethereal crystal of Lalique to the contemporary textiles of Oh my laine!, from the sensitive sculptures of Lux Naturale to the poetic embroideries, each step is an invitation to slow down and contemplate the beauty of the craft.
Within this network of places and narratives, Galerie Joseph, a partner of Paris Design Week in the Marais district, also plays a vital role. By hosting other exhibitions, it extends this celebration of craftsmanship, offering visitors a sensitive map of contemporary creation in the vibrant heart of the Marais.
The breath of the centenary
As Art Deco celebrates its centenary, this edition of Paris Design Week showcases craftsmanship, reminding us how French design remains true to its heritage while constantly reinventing itself. Behind each object on display lie hours of work, time-honored techniques, and uncompromising standards.
Through crystal, wool, wood, or clay, the same message resonates: craftsmanship is a way of shaping time, keeping the memory of materials alive, and opening them up to new uses. By placing these skills at the center, Paris Design Week affirms that the future of design is not built solely on technological innovation, but on the alliance between heritage, responsibility, and poetry.
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