studio glithero: lost time for perrier jouet at design miami

london-based glithero was commissioned by perrier-jouët to envision a work that reflected the champagne house’s art nouveau heritage. it was during their visit to the company’s maison belle epoque in epernay, france – home to more than 200 original pieces of art by some of art nouveau’s masters – that the duo found references in which to create their work, particularly the sudden change in atmosphere within the cellars expressing the ultimate stillness, disorientation and timelessness, all feelings which they have translated into their installation ‘lost time’.

photo by james harris courtesy of designmiami/

presented at designmiami/ the experiential environment explores the flowing forms found in antoni guadí’s sagrada familia church in barcelona in which the spanish art nouveau architect’s goal was to find nature’s purest, most perfect curve. in order to do so, he created upside-down architectural models composed of numerous weighted strings that draped from the ceiling. 

inverted parabolas composed of silver beads are suspended over a pool of waterimage © designboom

it is this which glithero alludes to with ‘lost time’ through the use of curved lines composed of weighted silver beads, draped and suspended in a cascading cluster over a dimly lit pond – the beads considered to mirror the dewdrops, cobwebs and puddles which cover the dark damp cellars of perrier-jouët, drawing on the double meaning of reflection and the optical effect of light and contrast encountered within. the calmness created through the combination of these elements challenges the viewer’s perception and offers an environment of transformation.

the curved elements are an ode to the flowing forms found in antoni guadí’s sagrada familia church in barcelonaimage © designboom

detail of the draped beadsimage © designboom

image © designboom

tim simpson and sarah van gameren of glitheroimage © designboom

‘(…) there was absolutely no brief on how it had to look like what it had to look like. this is very much their (glithero’s) vision and we are very proud and happy with it.

their project is about paying tribute to gaudi’s research of the perfect curve for the sgrada familia. then we took them to our house in epernay where we host the biggest art nouveau collection of emile gallé, and they visited the cellars where they were highly inspired by the atmosphere of the cellars. it’s very much about reflection and those drops of water and the feeling of losing your sense of space when you are in that environment. when you walk from the house, into the cellar, it’s that moment that their work tries to describe, in a different way here at designmiami.’ — axelle de buffévent, style director of martell mumm perrier-jouet.

axelle de buffévent, style director of martell mumm perrier-jouët and stéphanie durroux, international brand director of martell mumm perrier-jouëtimage © designboom

‘the idea of reinterpreting art nouveau was the loose starting point, but, it is true that beyond that they (glithero) could have decided to work on the reinterpretation of nature, they could have decided to work on curvilinear shapes, organic shapes… there were many different routes that they could have explored and they went with this one (the perfect curve).’

the point was to deliver an experience which we felt could enrich the art nouveau heritage of the brand. we just wanted to be sure that it was true to art nouveau which from the beginning they were very good at with the idea of the perfect curve with gaudí. also, even if it was not part of the brief in the beginning and which we are very proud about, is that when they visited our cellars something really happened and it transformed the initial idea of the perfect curve into something that was somehow a full experience based on what they themselves experienced in the cellars. so, its a deep link we think and it really belongs to us and no one else because of this combination of art nouveau and the cellars. that was exactly what we were after, so we are very happy about that.’ – stéphanie durroux, international brand director of martell mumm perrier-jouet 

glithero talks to designboom about the influence and elements behind ‘lost time’video © designboom

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