RAPHAËL SCHMITT
3 l Le papier peint réalisé pour Pierre Frey derrière deux chaises Litho et un siège ancien.
adorned the walls. “It was a nod to the French Garden collection.” Lalique was presenting its new Papillon vase with, behind them, some remarkable Art Nouveau naturalistic arabesques signed Raphaël Schmitt. A lush, verdant style that became something of a signature for the designer since he undertook a major project in Saint-Barts. “After I created a mural for decorator Oscar Lucien Ono at the Tropical Hotel, other significant demands followed”. Anne Jousse for example, the owner of the neighboring Manapany, who asked him to adapt this ambiance for her restaurant’s dishes, and then to those of all of her B Signature hotels. “Coming back to Paris, I went back to a somewhat more classical style”. Previously Raphaël Schmitt had also most notably imagined and created a fantastical garden design featuring philodendron leaves, wisteria, lotus and a lemon branch for both wallpaper and fabrics for the Pierre Frey company. Raphaël Schmitt and Pierre Frey continue to work together, and with the creation of a trompe-l’œil wood effect wallpaper it’s back to the classics and to
the designer’s training. For the latter’s seemingly unhesitating ease has nothing to do with luck. He cut his teeth at the renowned Van der Kelen Institute in Brussels, a sanctuary for decorative painting, where he added the art of faux marbre, faux bois, faux ciel and glacis à la bière to all that he had learned obtaining his diploma in cabinetmaking and ornamental sculpture. “For four years in the Jura region, I sculpted bas-reliefs; I’m the acanthus leaf specialist!” Already back then, a passion for plants. Raphaël Schmitt’s experience would have seemed to lead him naturally to the restoration of antique decorations, but he preferred to take a different approach. “I went to design school, and afterwards worked in fashion in New York, where I met Loulou de la Falaise who offered me a post when she launched her brand.” The adventure lasted a few years, but the itch to draw was irresistible. One day Raphaël picked up his brushes for Vincent Darré, and as they say, the rest is history.
4 l Assiette peinte pour les hôtels B Signature.
5 l Fresque dans l’escalier qui mène au studio de création chez Pierre Frey.
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