French flair & Roche Bobois
For every design house and designer, there is always one piece that becomes an instant classic the moment it hits the market.
In the kitchen, for instance, I can’t remember a more iconic and functional design than Philippe Starck’s citrus squeezer Juicy Salif. Right after it came out in 1990, every home that was featured in every magazine had that alien-looking manual juicer on its kitchen countertop or open shelf. People were even putting it in their living rooms!
It was the same five years earlier with Michael Grave’s 1985 design, Kettle with Bird Whistle, the most exquisitely designed kettle (with a price tag to match).
In the living room, iconic sofas and chairs are plentiful. They have achieved cult status, easily identifiable and never old.
The French brand Roche Bobois has one such sofa, designed by painter, sculptor and designer Hans Hopfer.
Design year: 1971.
Design status: Timeless.
The Mah Jong sofa is the signature piece of Roche Bobois, Paris. Its design is based on “total freedom of function and form” as it allows different configurations it can be an armchair, a lounge chair, a bed, a low or high sofa.
The sofa sits in the center of the new showroom of Roche Bobois on Don Chino Roces Avenue in Makati. Eugene Lorenzana, managing director of Roche Bobois Philippines, has brought the brand the largest French furniture brand in the world to Manila, believing it fulfills the needs of the “A” market which chooses quality furniture and doesn’t mind paying the price say, half a million pesos for a sofa set still high admittedly but not the kind of price that induces a heart attack, at least not for the high-end market.
“Roche Bobois has close to 200 stores around the world and is primarily strong in Europe. Now they’re entering Asia, having opened recently in Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and we’re the first in Southeast Asia,” says Lorenzana, who also established Dwell and ID home stores, and persistently worked to bring the brand to the Philippines. “It wasn’t easy to convince them. Most brands, when they look at the country, think it’s not a big market, that they would rather first open in Hong Kong or Singapore. I said, the brands here are sophisticated; our economy is slowly improving and now is the time to establish here. You can’t establish your name when everybody is here already.”
And so here it is, finally, in Manila: The sectional Mah Jong sofa, which turns 41 years this year.
From its original creation and collaborations with other design houses (including Jean Paul Gaultier and Kenzo), it is now clad in Missoni Home fabric. It can fill up your entire living room, it can be L-shape, U-shape, a series of sofas, or a lounge chair and a bed. The cushions can be piled two-high, three-high, or one hugging the floor.
Lorenzana says the market for Roche Bobois is wider as its designs and prices encompass a wide range. “The vision of the company is to marry beauty with comfort. It’s not all serious design like the Italians, where a lot of pieces are very cold and straight. Roche Bobois pieces are very fashionable, very glamorous. The French are known for their design. Just sit in a café watch street fashion, it’s incredible.”
At the showroom in Makati, there are some pieces that will truly stop you in your tracks. The Fleur dining table is made from one piece of solid iron that is heated to a very high temperature and then sliced up to whatever shape. There are no joints, so everything is one piece. Also, some glass coffee tables that ingeniously extend to several configurations, while some are nesting pieces that can serve double purposes.
Furniture pieces can be customized with over 70 leather choices. It takes about four months to get your order — eight to 12 weeks to produce, and then four weeks to ship.
“People are starting to buy quality pieces that they’re not going to throw away,” says Lorenzana. “People are investing more in their homes especially since Filipinos like to stay home, so it’s nice to have great pieces.”
On the home trends that he’s seeing locally, Lorenzana says, “There was a time in the Nineties when everyone was minimalist. Now, I think homes will still have a modern feel but based on the owner’s own interpretation, not his designer’s. Some will have Asian modern, some will have Zen modern. It’s no longer textbook modern. Now it can be modern but at the same time have a lot of curves and colors. Because people are now well versed on design trends, they have more confidence. They’re accustomed and exposed to several modern movements.”
His tip on furnishing one’s house? “Wait for the right piece.” Which means the right design and budget.
Lorenzana and his wife Marga share that, two years after they moved into their new house, they still don’t have a bed or a sofa. They have a mattress to sleep on yes, and also a small study but basically an unfurnished living room.
“We’re waiting for the right bed and sofa.”
With Roche Bobois right at their fingertips, we imagine they won’t be waiting that long.
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Roche Bobois is located at 2100 Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City. Call 519-8240, e-mail manila@rochebobois.com.
