PARIS — Maison&Objet has announced that due to the unprecedented situation of the coronavirus pandemic that its September 2020 fair will no longer be going ahead in its usual physical format. Instead, from Sept. 4-18, Maison&Objet will host a "Digital Fair," notably via its online platform, MOM (Maison&Objet and more).
Paris Design Week is confirmed to run from Sept. 3-12, 2020 in Paris, to contribute to re-opening and kick-off the fall season for decoration, design, and crafts professionals. The next edition of Maison&Objet is scheduled to run from Jan. 22-26, 2021. Initially planned for September, the WORK! and PROJECTS show sectors will be part of the January 2021 edition.
"Although there are encouraging signs of the pandemic beginning to decrease, we believe there are still far too many uncertainties regarding the travel conditions for international exhibitors and visitors. Furthermore, the lack of clarity regarding the ability to hold large gatherings in early September in France has played a major part in influencing our decision to call off the September edition of Maison&Objet, despite the fact that 80 percent of stands had already been reserved by April 2020," comments Philippe Brocart, managing director of Maison&Objet.
As agile and innovative as ever and keen to help the design, decoration and crafts community during this unprecedented time, Maison&Objet announces the launch of its Digital Fair, set to run from Sept. 4-8, 2020.
This online alternative will be underpinned by the solid digital networking experience and expertise the Maison&Objet teams have notably acquired since the launch of the MOM digital platform back in 2016.
"Our teams have spent the past few weeks shaping out plans that will allow brands to present their new collections and continue engaging with buyers and specifiers," Brocart continues.
The Digital FairBrings Maison&Objet to Life Online
The aim of this initiative is to maintain an active relationship between brands/designers and buyers/specifiers with a view to driving year-end orders, as is the case each September.
The Digital Fair will feature two complementary strands: Digital Showrooms on the MOM digital platform to enable products to be showcased, and Digital Talks on the Maison&Objet website to deliver up content and inspiration.
Digital Showrooms, on MOM
Initially launched in 2016, MOM is a high-performance online platform that connects brands with some 400,000 international buyers. In September, Maison&Objet will be giving those buyers the chance to discover all the latest collections in a new "showroom" format mirroring the way in which stands are presented at the fair.
Digital Talks, on Maison&Objet's Website and Social Media Platforms
Maison&Objet will also be presenting an unprecedented program of talks to offer inspiration and help analyze the latest trends, bringing together the industry's top creatives, trend hunters, architects, designers, stylists, retailers and makers. Online conversations, articles, product selections and interviews, either in podcast format or streamed live, will offer the very latest analysis and insights. They will notably focus on how, under the blazing spotlight of lockdown, the Home has become a veritable refuge, leading us to question our surroundings and living spaces as a whole.
Paris Design Week
Each year for the past decade, Maison&Objet has been organizing Paris Design Week, a design-led experience that runs alongside the trade fair. Through 5 different districts, each with their own identity, Paris Design Week extends an open invitation to explore the City of Light through the prism of design. 2020 will be no different, with a whole host of exciting new finds being celebrated in the French capital's showrooms and featured in its decoration, design, fine crafts and lifestyle stores, accompanied by a plethora of pop-up installations in public places.
More than ever before, this year's Paris Design Week is keen to help the industry keep powering forward by getting design geared Parisian businesses back on their feet. This year, Paris Design Week will also be part of France Design Week, a new national initiative spearheaded by the French Agency for the Promotion of Industrial Creation (APCI - Agence pour la promotion de la création industrielle) that will bring coordinated design events to cities across France for everyone to enjoy each year.
Unprecedented January 2021 Session
In January 2021, Maison&Objet will host an unprecedented edition of its trade fair, attended by all the market players who are keen to further pursue and strengthen their efforts to get the industry back on track. The WORK! and PROJECTS show sectors, two highlights initially scheduled for September, will now be part of the January edition of the fair, as well as the installation from Designer of the Year Franklin Azzi.
"The global lockdown we have experienced is set to accelerate the transformation of workspaces. The WORK! show sector will directly reflect those changes, enriched with designs that were elaborated during the crisis period and becoming a veritable hub for reinventing the modern day workspace", comments Brocart.
In-keeping with its desire to accompany workspace change, Maison&Objet has recently joined forces with Fabernovel and Morning Coworking to announce the launch of ReSPACE, a think tank to explore post-Covid- 19 workspaces, which will be inaugurated this September following a virtual talk series set to run online from June 10-July 8.