Colour Block
In the south of France, designer Pierre Yovanovitch transformed the boutique of Villa Noailles art centre with a bold, eye-catching interior and fearless use of colour
“I am fortunate to have a great and friendly working relationship with Jean-Pierre Blanc, founder of the Hyères International Fashion and Photography Festival, the Hyères Design Parade and the Toulon Design Parade,” Pierre Yovanovitch says. “Jean-Pierre commissioned me to do the interior of the Villa Noailles’s boutique in 2019, and now again in 2020. I’ve also been a longtime supporter of the art centre’s festivals so I was thrilled to be able to take part in it by designing the boutique in conjunction with the opening of Design Parade Hyères.”
For this second iteration, which will be on view until April 2021, the French designer — who hails from about 100 kilometres away in Nice — has expressed all his creativity in a 100-square-metre space. Yovanovitch kept the existing materials and structural elements while adding bold, colourful paints and new pieces of furniture to give it an entirely new look. Every hue was specially created for this project in collaboration with the expert team of Atelier Mériguet-Carrère; green-blue, bright red and pale pink create the palette. “Colour has the power to redefine space,” Yovanovitch says. “It gives a new dimension and interacts with objects and furniture. I wanted to create a bold, joy-filled space that brings the design pieces to light.”
It was important for me to create a space that echoes the eccentricity and vibrancy that Marie-Laure Noailles was known for, as well as the energy, the joy and the light that emanate from this mythical villa in the south of France
Behind the concept and aesthetic was also Yovanovitch’s desire to highlight the architectural history and cubist character of the building — which dates back to the 1920s and was originally designed by Robert Mallet-Stevens (1886-1945) — where the boutique is nestled. “The space had to reflect the festival’s focus of supporting emerging and established designers with fun, eye-catching design focal points,” Yovanovitch says. Curated this year by Graziella Semerciyan gallery, the objects perfectly fit the lively atmosphere.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the lives of Marie-Laure and Charles de Noailles, and their role as art, design and architecture patrons of their time,” Yovanovitch adds. “It was important for me to create a space that echoes the eccentricity and vibrancy that Marie-Laure Noailles was known for, as well as the energy, the joy and the light that emanate from this mythical villa in the south of France.”
