When he first told his parents he wanted to become a designer, Piergil Fourquié had ski equipment or children’s toys in mind. But after graduating from Olivier de Serres and the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design in 2002, he was quickly picked up by packaging agency centdegrés to design perfume bottles. Despite not chiming with Piergil’s early aspirations, this opportunity foreshadows his subsequent preoccupation with elegance and curves.
After packaging, Piergil began to develop furniture, then luxury goods and lighting for Arik Levy, the creator of designerbox#1. Piergil says
« I stayed there for seven years and I learnt a great deal. By the end, I ran part of the studio. I left because I wanted to create in my own right. »
I had already started producing my own pieces in collaboration with Gallery Gosserez.” Specialising in furniture and contemporary design objects, Gallery Gosserez produced Piergil’s ‘Les Bulles’ in 2009. Transparent vessels combining elegant curves and imaginative contrasts, these ‘bubbles’ are emblematic of the designer’s subtle universe of feminine curves and timeless elegance. In 2011 came ‘Big Boss’, an office desk that for Piergil is a woman – as evidenced by the metal skirt and noble shapeliness. “Along with ‘Les Bulles’, this is one of the pieces that best sums up my work. The desk was designed with small trestles, which gives it a retro feel, and along with the choice of materials – leather, metal and wood – gives the timeless look that I sought after.ˮ Feminine and curvaceous without being over the top, the design of Piergil Fourquié is also imbued with that French Touch that unifies the new generation of designers.
A contemporary of William Delvigne, Ionna Vautrin, Julie Pfligersdorffer and Brichets & Ziegler, Piergil recognises himself in their universe and trademarks. “We are of the same generation, and we had very similar training, so there are clearly common references, although each of us his or her own sensibility.ˮConsidering his own inspirations, Piergil quotes the poetic works of the Bouroullec brothers (“Of course!”) and the design of Japan, which has “a very different culture and hence is clearly very inspiring because it brings an original element to my work.” Japanese Uchiwa inspired ‘Maiko’, a series of fans with the iconic form of the original but created through 3D printing, which made the material look like a porcelain biscuit.“Here, the object that I reinterpreted became the material. The design transformed the object.” As passionate a traveller as he is a designer, Piergil increasingly collaborates with new design studios such as Hârto, for whom he created ‘Edmée’, a box to hold jewellery, make-up and other feminine treasures, and another producer in the South of France with whom he is collaborating on a shelf-bookcase project scheduled for completion in 2016.
Beyond the creative process, Piergil has also founded several ambitious projects. Three years ago he set up the Collectif FFD (French Federation of Design) to promote rising stars of the design and crafts world, and for two years in a row he brought together 22 creators to display their work at the Louvre during Paris Design Week. Piergil approached the designerbox challenge with the same creative enthusiasm and spirit of enterprise. “I immediately had the idea of a display vessel that can fit into all sorts of interiors. The hole in the top of the bell allows for a multi-use object that speaks to different sensibilities. You can make a cheese dome by plugging the hole with a cork or a vase by pouring in a glass of water, use it as a decorative globe, or turn it into a lampshade’.As for himself, this epicurean young designer says he’s planning to place basil into one of the globes in order to fully appreciate its delicious aroma so reminiscent of summer…
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