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…
