Liaigre, the French legacy design house, envisioned and established by late Christian Liaigre, is holding an immersive, monthlong showcase at Mumbai’s Gallery Aequo. While the brand has been actively taking on private projects in India for many years now, this event is the first public art installation in the form of a Parisian apartment, with the brand’s signature furniture, lighting, and objects on display. It is a celebration of Liaigre’s craftsmanship through a gallery-style presentation. The desire to function at the cusp where two cultures meet, is evident in the choice of an Indian colour palette for the showcase, featuring warm yellows, bronze, mustard, green and ochre. The installation will be open from 10am to 7pm from the 25th of September till October 20th. As Christophe Caillaud, President Liaigre, puts it, “It’s like planting a seed and if it goes well, we’ll come back”.
The restrained French style might seem under threat of being overwhelmed by the vivacious Indian. But a history of happy marriages between the two already lives in the chiffon sarees popularised by Maharani Indra Devi, who discovered the luxurious fabric in Lyon, personally sourced them, and had local kaarigars embellish the nine yards, revolutionising Indian fashion forever. So excited anticipation about Liaigre’s showcase is not surprising. And Christophe is similarly interested in what India may offer, “In France we have what we call the woodhunter, who tries to find a cedar which is going to be put down because it is too old, or identify a veneer that we may be looking for; in India too we are curious to look at samples, the woods, colours, and similar elements”.
For Christophe the showcase in Mumbai is not for business reasons alone, Liaigre already has a niche, active clientele in India, in his words, it is about, “Having an experience with the people we are meeting. Trying to convey how this art of living can be fitting with the culture and Indian art. Above all it’s about meeting people in this context and building a more intimate relationship. One thing comes with the other. If you can articulate your aesthetic, your motto, your way of living, then people will get interested. Liagire shows how two cultures can fit together and bring something extremely strong and appealing”.
India is emerging as an enticing investment for luxury brands with particular interest in local craftsmanship and traditional art forms; but with Liaigre, whose original Baroque, Louis 14th inspired style is often reductively understood as minimalism, one is interested in how the relationship will transform both the parties coming together, “I know that the Indian style is different, but what is more interesting is marrying different styles other than just marrying things which are consistent. That is something we are trying to do more and more, within a grammar which is strongly established. To do something which is quite unusual, which is not what the people expect from Liaigre. Creativity is in being where people are not expecting you to be. When we do a project in Japan, we are working with Japanese craftspersons, it is completely different and when we work in South America it is the same and so it will be in India.” While he has not yet ventured into any design collabs with Indian craftsmen, he views the future with enthusiastic uncertainty. Liaigre must remain Liaigre but with an openness to place and context.
While many luxury brands are vying for the Indian market, it leaves Christophe unfazed, “Competition is a good thing, when you have competitors you ask more and more questions and understand the specificity of the place and this is really what we want to convey to the market, that we are not just selling a product we are selling an experience.”
But when Liaigre comes to India it is not just the French designs which come but also the French work ethic. For Christophe nothing is “nonnegotiable”, and he admires tenacious clients, “The best projects we have done historically are the ones where we have had strong clients with a strong will of what they want. We don’t want to impose a thing. We want the people living on the property to live in their home and not in a Liaigre home. Working with customers in every country has its peculiarities. It’s the common will to work together that we have, rather than plans. At the end of the day we should be humble, dynamic, and efficient.”
Qualities which develop deeper when given time, as with the Mumbai showcase. One of the benefits of having a prolonged exhibit is to allow warm communion and development of a shared design language, as Christophe says, “This is important for the people. What they will see at the installation, the discussion they will have with us, will allow them to better qualify what they want, and we will make what they want, fitting to where they are living.”
We too wait with hopeful uncertainty as to what relationships unfold over the month and what it means for Indian design within the country and internationally once touched by Liaigre.
Photos by Mohammad Azaan.
