As its second stop, the mudac welcomes the exhibition celebrating the prizewinners of the Prix Emile Hermès, le sens de l’object, which was inaugurated at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Born out of the desire to stimulate young people active in the field of contemporary design, this initiative aims to make new talent known on a European scale.
The theme proposed for this first edition of the competition was “everyday lightness”, as applied to objects for travel and the home. 2500 young designers registered for the competition and 700 dossiers were received. Eight European selection committees got together and chose 21 projects, prototypes of which were made by the candidates and submitted to the final jury chaired by Enzo Mari in Paris in July 2008.
At the end of this exciting process, an exhibition of 17 of the projects is being presented at the mudac with original scenography by Gabriele Pezzini, design manager at Hermès.
By common accord, the jury decided not to allocate first and second prizes for this first edition, but instead to honour three projects with equal third prize: Simon Lécureux for his rocking stool Bronco, Bastian Goeke for his Handbag support, and Francesco Librizzi and Vittorio Venezia for their weekend luggage Rolling VS Folding.
The new prize is in keeping with the creative tradition of Hermès, inspired in particular by Emile Hermès, a member of the third generation of the family, who ran the business from 1921 to 1951. A creative, open, independent personality with an inquiring mind and with a passion for travel and speed, he was endowed with a great ability to judge and listen, as attentive to the aspirations of youth as he was sensitive to things from the past. This man of conviction was able to surround himself with creators, inventors and artists whose fertile imaginations were placed at the service of a reflection centred on ingenuity, functionality and aesthetics that still permeates the spirit of Hermès.
