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Design and Technology

Remi Tessiers Icons

For a designer seeking the definitive challenge, the superyacht world offers no limits to creativity. Perhaps that's why designer Remi Tessier is in such high demand

It’s all very well appreciating the intricate design and detail of a designer’s latest project, but what about the choices they make in their own lives? Here Rémi Tessier shares his top 5 design heroes and explains why…

Maison Bonnet, Damien Hirst, Maison Goyard, Hans Wegner & Dyson

Rémi Tessier applauds the ‘audacity of perfection’ in the spaces he designs and furnishes, though functionality remains uncompromised by aesthetics. It’s his belief that true luxury is in the detail and that ‘both luxury and refinement should be sensed rather than ostentatiously forced.’

Originally trained as a cabinet maker, Tessier is ‘infatuated by materials.’ From his first interior in a flower shop to the superlative yachts he now fits out, he’s renowned for poring over every millimetre of the scheme himself. Though self-taught, Tessier has won several prestigious international awards for the yachts he has worked on and is now among the world’s most decorated yacht designers. He doesn’t have a house style, and maintains that the client’s personality informs each design, while his own touch is profoundly implicit: ‘in the details of a grand atrium, the precision of an elegant curvature or in the sophisticated accuracy of a mechanism.’

His ability to manipulate material and create bespoke furniture to complement his projects comes from the seven years he spent as a cabinet maker at Les Compagnons de Devoir, which afforded him both the technique and the creative freedom to ‘challenge the design.’ Working with only the very best craftsmen to ensure rigorous technical expertise, Tessier’s passion for precision and penchant for rare materials informs a lot of his work. Often convention is abandoned by mixing unexpected fabrics and using lighting to reveal subtle sophistication through unimagined details or textures.

Now heading a team of 15 in his Paris studio, Tessier is currently completing the interior of a 32.5m high performance sloop, known as 3075. Designed by Malcolm McKeon Yacht Design and built at Vitters, the project has been fiercely under wraps, but its race performance is crucial. With an advanced carbon hull, the interior must also remain lightweight. The yacht is set to launch this autumn, but Tessier won’t be taking a break. He’s already working on a 99.9m Feadship but Ocean Independence persuaded him to share his own personal design heroes, examples of excellent design – from a chair to a vacuum cleaner…

1

Bespoke Lunnettes

Maison Bonnet

Synonymous with exceptional craftsmanship, Maison Bonnet is an exclusive, bespoke ‘lunetier’ house in Paris, known to have made glasses worn by Le Corbusier and Yves St Laurent. “Every single pair is unique and adjusted for you only and they are rightly considered to be the most prestigious glasses maker in the world. You cannot order them online, you have to come to them and follow the entire process of having them made for you.”

bespoke lunettes

2

Butterfly Cabinet

Damien Hirst

As part of his Entomology series, Hirst uses his most iconic motif – the butterfly, positioned in precise, vertical or horizontal rows inside stainless steel frames. It is both a graphic and a scientific ordering, undone by the slight misalignments and the small and subtle variations within each group.
Rémi says; “Damien Hirst made me a butterfly cabinet: each butterfly looks the same but when you look closely they are all different. It’s minimal and maximal: the cabinet is so perfect. Damien is an amazing artist but also a great designer, I’m a fan of his world – and a friend.”

butterfly cabinet

3

Rolling Trolley

Maison Goyard

If you travel a lot, you’ll know the difference between a piece of luggage designed to look beautiful, and one that is practical. Goyard rolling trolley’s are hailed as among the best – and most chic – in the world. “Here’s an example of tradition meeting modernity in perfect harmony. Every single piece created is of amazing quality, the roller is so great that I can drive it around the world with just one finger. It’s the perfect box to carry all my samples: so timeless, so vintage, so French.”

goyard trolley

4

The Round One

Hans Wegner

The undisputed master of Danish chair design; with more than 500 to his name, many of which are internationally recognised. ‘The Round One’ as Wegner referred to it, with typical provincial modesty, is the most famous of them all.
Rémi says, “For me, this is the perfect design: comfortable and beautiful, when the shape meets the function in incredible simplicity, it could be done only by hand, and only by the best cabinet maker. This is an iconic piece on which I sit every day in my studio.”

hans wegner chair

5

Vacuum Cleaner

Dyson

A superyacht Owner himself, Sir James Dyson invented the world’s first bagless vacuum cleaner drawing on the technology he had developed to build an industrial cyclone tower for his factory. Launched in 1979, the company now employs more than 1,000 engineers and runs a foundation to encourage young people to train as engineers. “My Dyson vacuum cleaner is so efficient, so well engineered, so handy, so desirable, so cool: cleaning is becoming a pure pleasure now. James is a visionary,” says Rémi.

dyson hoover

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