A world of luxury comes to the table

This double F-marked oval buckle on a soup plate won’t go unnoticed by any fashionista. After bags, glasses or even watches, the O’Lock Fendi emblem also adorned the first Fendi Casa tableware collection, this label was launched in 1987 by Anna Fendi and until then was known for its impeccable invoice furniture. This new proposal for Limoges porcelain tableware is signed by her daughter, Silvia Venturini Fendi, artistic director of the brand’s men’s accessories and collections. “We were the first fashion brand to launch a line for the home and this collection is the perfect continuation. Cutlery contributes to feeling comfortable at home. This idea of ​​home and a sense of family is deeply connected to the history of Fendi”she says.

And especially attuned to the times, explained by the conjuncture of several phenomena: the desire of luxury to expand the universe for professions other than fashion, the desire of consumers to invest, in all directions of terms, their interiors but also new ones. snobbery is linked to cutlery, which has become a real social attribute: You only have to look at the number of people turning their plates today to know where it came from.

Gateway to luxury

Sales in cutlery will jump by 9% in 2021 according to Franceexplosion, the professional committee for the sector. A figure to compare with a strong increase in French production: more than 18% by 2021. “Faced with restaurant closures during the pandemic, the French have reclaimed their dining area. This led to an explosion in supply in this area, whose knowledge of French is historic. Luxury brands are very interested in it because they no longer want to offer only leather goods but a whole art of living. When you enter the Dior boutique at 30 Montaigne, you feel invited into someone’s home.observes Blandine Franc, president of the France Arts de la Table Development Commission of Franceexplosion, also international director of Dior Maison. No longer just round and white plates, cutlery has become a reflection of everyone’s personality. »

Not to mention that they represent a great gateway to luxury at around 100 to 300 euros a plate, but are also an ideal gift to replace all-too-ephemeral bouquets. These are all elements that explain the interest of luxury brands in this sector. This is a case of Hermès rejecting specially marked china with an equestrian coat of arms, of Tiffany whose original knowledge was this with her cutlery wearing its coat of arms blue or even of Dior Maison whose exponential bidding evokes the adage its founder loved: “Living in a house that doesn’t look like you is like wearing someone else’s clothes”.

“Christian Dior was deeply attached to this art of living. Certain collections today designed by Cordelia de Castellane for Dior Maison are inspired by couturier life, others are intended to be an extension of our fashion shows. We position ourselves as a couture brand of tableware and decorative arts”, confided Olivier Bialobos, Dior’s director of communications and image. Like an echo of the fashion system, Dior Maison offers a permanent but also seasonal collection, including Cannage Montaigne, Toile de Jouy, and Dior Bees available on plates, bottles, trays, but also notepads, candles, or even pillows (from a bread plate costing 70 euros). And when Judy Chicago worked with Maria Grazia Chiuri on her haute couture show scenography in 2020, the artist jumped at the chance to sign a collection of porcelain tableware that took motifs from her work created for the show.

A bridge with fashion

Gucci has also developed all of its décor around its singular aesthetic, including a mug with a lid that reflects the maximalism of its fashion, which has become an object of desire (around 290 euros). It’s no wonder that former artistic director Alessandro Michele – who recently left the house – has been in charge of Ginori’s creations which were bought in 2013 by Gucci. This Florentine porcelain factory founded in 1735 houses a rich collection of tableware designed by figures such as Gio Ponti, artistic director between 1923 and 1933, or more recently the young English designer Luke Edward Hall. “We are now bringing out Sunday cutlery and cutlery for everyday use. And customers renew their services just as they do with fashion jewelery which they change according to their moodcontinued Blandine Franc of Francbrilliance. Over the counter, we no longer hesitate to mix styles and brands in this ‘mix and match’ idea that fashion loves. »

Check out this cutlery that has become a trendy accessory, Faïencerie de Gien is now offering the “Les Dépareillés” box set, with four different plates but in the same vein. “Return from China” effect, minus missions. To celebrate its bicentennial in 2021, the historic French house asked three designers to imagine a collection: Yazbukey, Julie de Libran and Laurence Mahéo of La Prestic Ouiston. In mid-January, the pottery will unveil a new service envisioned this time by designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, which will go on sale next March. “This gives a boost to our creative process because the way they create fabrics and colors is different from the painting artists we are used to working with. This is why we want to continue this dialogue with the world of fashionexplained President Yves de Talhouët. In recent years, we have seen a rejuvenation of our clients, the effects of our new strategy but also post-Covid. » After “bag-those”, “plate-those”?