We speak with internationally renowned French architect and designer Jean-Marie Massaud about the shifting definition of luxury, and how flexibility, restraint, and the discipline of subtraction inform one of his latest collections.
At first glance, the Aon collection looks deceptively simple — and it is, in form and function. Behind these alluringly pared-back forms though, is a depth of thinking that signals an important shift in the pace of furniture design.
Jean-Marie articulates the conceptual basis for the collection with characteristic clarity. “Our work and living spaces are constantly mutating. Seating design has to keep up with that pace: it needs to be able to be moved, reconfigured, stripped down, and recycled easily,” he explains. “Flexibility is the new luxury.”
First unveiled at Salone del Mobile in April, the Aon sofa and armchair collection, designed for Arper, signals this new direction.
Instead of building character through added layers, the design takes the opposite approach: returning to essentials, and allowing structure, material and comfort to take the lead. The result is a series of beautifully understated silhouettes with an almost playful lightness of form.
As indoor and outdoor spaces merge, furniture must respond to a broader range of settings. “Aom was designed for freedom of movement. Thanks to its lightweight design, the collection adapts to human behaviour, whether that’s in a private lounge or out on the deck,” he notes.
As we look forward, sustainability remains paramount, and for Jean-Marie, it’s the very foundation of any piece. “Sustainability wasn’t tacked on at the end. From the first sketch, the goal was 100 per cent recyclability,” he says. Components are mechanically joined, so they can be separated, repaired and eventually recycled at the end of their life.
It is in this context that Aon was conceived as a system, rather than a static object. Though visually restrained, Aon is dynamic: designed to move and to be reconfigured as spaces change. Sustainable furniture design, as Jean-Marie puts it, is not just durability, but the capacity to adapt, evolve and recover.
Where comfort, aesthetics and sustainability once competed, collections like Aon show they can be resolved together in pieces that feel beautifully uncomplicated — perhaps the perfect antidote to today’s changing world.
