Maison&Objet Paris is positioned as a major specifier for future trends for the design, decor and lifestyle markets

Despite the events in Paris last November and an economic context that remains troubled, all sectors of the decoration world turned out in force for the latest MAISON&OBJET PARIS show, from the finest French craftspersons to the biggest international brands in luxury and design.

A total of 2,978 exhibitors from 59 countries, including nearly 700 new names, took part in ensuring top-quality, updated collections further corroborated by market observers.

This diverse display, coupled with a great variety of activities and speakers, positions the show as a major specifier for future trends. The organisers’ cross-disciplinary approach readily inspires and federates the global decor community in every aisle of the show. Beyond the traditional players in distribution, architects, interior designers, stylists, as well as representatives from hospitality and real estate groups actively contributed to the positive.

Pronounced return of French visitors

Some of the good news from this season's show: building on the momentum of the September 2015 show, French buyers are back at MAISON&OBJET PARIS, where their attendance has increased by 4%. This turnaround shows the rightness of the organisers’ choice to shake up the floor plan, so that visitors can rediscover the offer at each new edition of the show.

As for international visitors, the drop in numbers was limited to just 8%, due in great part to the steadfast support of European visitors, with significant increases in visitors from Belgium, up 14%, the Netherlands, up 4%, and Spain, up 1%.

Though professionals were expecting a substantial decrease in visitors from abroad, November's terrorist attacks in Paris most impacted attendance from a few overseas export countries, such as Japan, down 26%.

Abundant inspirations and trend forecasting

At this last show, MAISON&OBJET PARIS remained true to its mission of being a resource for the industry, catalysing its growth through valuable event content. The show's diverse activities inspire and inform, giving visitors tools to assess the latest market trends. They now form one of the show's standout dimensions. In a constantly evolving industry, MAISON&OBJET PARIS again proves it is the gold-standard gathering for all home decor and design professionals wanting to stay at the cutting edge of their profession.

The Inspirations Forum, eagerly awaited by all, was designed this season by François Bernard and drew very positive public support. Many visitors explored this exhibition, based on the theme “Wild” chosen by the MAISON&OBJET Observatoire to interpret today's trends and analyse new consumption patterns.

The Café-Bookstore developed in parallel by Elizabeth Leriche was constantly packed. There, visitors discovered a select book offer related to the Wild theme and the Inspirations Book published by the MAISON&OBJET Observatoire.

At the next Paris show, Vincent Grégoire/Nelly Rodi will handle scenography for the new theme in the Inspirations Forum and François Bernard will oversee the design of the Café-Bookstore.

In the same dynamic vein, the 45 presentations and discussion workshops held during the exhibition in the conference area and Retail space saw great success. The speakers, addressing standing-room-only crowds, shared exciting insights into the current creative scene and the evolution of the décor and design markets.

Also of note: the exhibitions “One of a kind to infinity” dedicated to MAISON&OBJET's Designer of the Year for January 2016, Eugeni Quitllet, and the Rising Talents 2016, showcasing the new Scandinavian scene through the work of seven young designers from five Nordic countries. They, too, embody the show's ambition to serve as a showcase and springboard for today's major designers, as well as budding designers showing great promise.

MAISON&OBJET PARIS fans flock to the social networks

MAISON&OBJET PARIS is actively playing its media role on the social networks. The show is drawing an increasingly large online community of followers who savvily observe the latest developments with each new edition. During the event, subscribers to the show's various accounts increased markedly: from 18,000 to 19,500 on Twitter, 206,000 to 215,000 on Facebook, and 28,800 to 40,000 on Instagram.

Online, the show never ends

Now, for the first time, MAISON&OBJET PARIS has developed digital solutions that let exhibitors uniquely present their collections to buyers and specifiers, both before and after the show. Some 10,000 products are already available online in a database that will soon have even more enhanced features.

With this tool, the show provides a community exchange platform for non-stop, year-round dialogue, above and beyond the MAISON&OBJET events in Singapore (MAISON&OBJET ASIA, 8-11 March), Miami Beach (MAISON&OBJET AMERICAS, 10-13 May), and Paris in January and September (next MAISON&OBJET PARIS held 2-6 September and PARIS DESIGN WEEK 3-10 September 2016).

Source: Maison&Objet

Photographs by Govin Sorel, Greg Sevaz, Fillioux&Fillioux and Anne-Emmanuelle Thion

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