Guerlain and Ora ïto unveil a futuristic creation in Limoges porcelain

From the Nice tramway to a collection for Christofle, from chairs for the Italian house Cassina to a hotel complex with Buren, the designer Ora ïto continues to demonstrate, since his beginnings in 1998, that he is capable of presenting his sober style. and futuristic, on all scales. While he is currently working on the redevelopment of Place Castellane in Marseille, he has just unveiled a reinterpretation of Guerlain's Orchidée Impériale Black cream pot. For the manufacture of this porcelain art edition, Ora ïto benefited from the know-how of the Bernardaud factory, based in Limoges since 1863. He tells “Knowledge of the Arts” behind the scenes of this collaboration with two emblematic French houses.

“Knowledge of the Arts”: What is the main idea that guided your reinterpretation of the pot designed by Guerlain for its Orchidée Impériale Black cream?

The idea was to propose an evolution of the original pot, to make it more modern. But while keeping a very traditional appearance since it had to be made of porcelain, with the Bernardaud house. So it’s a sort of three-way creation, between the houses of Guerlain, Bernardaud and me. And I integrated an innovation into this traditional dimension, with the choice of a black enamel on the biscuit, which was very technically complicated to achieve. It took a lot of testing before finding the right formula. It is a house which has incredible know-how and which was capable of taking on this challenge.

Did you imagine the piece after familiarizing yourself with the know-how of Maison Bernardaud?

No, it was done somewhat simultaneously. But I already knew how to work this material and what it was interesting to bring to this object: lines, hollow joints, inserts… A whole series of elements which would contrast with the porcelain and at the same time bring it brightness, by capturing and retaining light. I had this idea of ​​different lines, which we find all around the pot, a bit like in a Soulages painting, where we go from black to white which is brought by the light.

When you discovered the Bernardaud workshops in Limoges, what aspects of the manufacture struck you the most?

The archives are incredible. It's a real museum, with creations dating back to the 19th century. But there are also pieces of great modernity, artist editions… The technical skills of the craftsmen are extraordinary. This meeting made me want to go a little further with Maison Bernardaud: I would like to create a collection for tableware or vases. There are so many ways to express yourself through this material. I have to look for the right object, the right angle, the right transcription of porcelain through a new typology that would be consistent with my creative principles and my forms.

What attracted you to this subject?

Its total purity. It has something organic, alive. And with this house, it's technology brought to craftsmanship, because they manage to do technically incredible things, for example the series of Balloons by Jeff Koons. But what interests me is to push the material to the maximum of its capacities. And as long as she stays within her capabilities, it remains fair. If at any given moment it doesn't work, another material needs to be added, something needs to be patched up… then the idea is not the right one. But at first I try to ignore the technique. It also allows me to challenge the teams, like this black enamelling that we applied to the pot designed for Guerlain. My wish sometimes seems contradictory at the start of the project, but, in the end, it can help unlock new technical possibilities. This is where the interest of this two-person work lies: there are never good products without a good designer and above all, without a good manufacturer, it's 50/50.

Why do you like to collaborate with houses like Guerlain or Bernardaud?

Guerlain is one of the houses I most enjoyed working with. It has everything that represents a brand for me, that is to say a history, know-how, legitimacy. Because often a brand is the story of a man, with an idea, as is the case for Guerlain, or of a family, as for Bernardaud. Sometimes they even almost created their profession. These brands are exceptional because they go beyond marketing communication. They have this legitimacy, which is sometimes based on several centuries, of being able to express themselves in certain areas. That’s what fascinates me about this kind of collaboration.

How does a designer position himself in relation to these sometimes century-old houses?

The strength of these brands is that they have the ability to evolve over time, while keeping their roots. We only come to accompany them. We enter into their story at a given, specific moment, on a particular object. I am very happy that this is my third product with Guerlain, 15 years after my first two projects with them: the Idylle bottle and the Terracotta case, in 2009.

This fall, you unveiled a watch with Vacheron Constantin, but also reinvented Renault's R17, and we are expecting the new Marseille metro at the start of 2025, the design of which you have rethought. How do you manage to combine all these projects, which vary greatly in scale?

Having a sense of scale is very important in this profession. There are designers who manage large-scale projects, but not necessarily small-scale projects or vice versa. As for me, I must say that, since I started, I love going from macro to micro, from mass distribution to hyper luxury, but also from industrial to artisanal. It is an intellectual, physical need to enter into large moving machines and, on the contrary, move towards smaller, more delicate objects, like sculptures.

What are the next projects that you will reveal soon?

A musical instrument, but also a project with an art museum in Palermo. I consider myself a bit of a craftsman: I work on a few projects at a time, because for each new project, you have to work on it every day, refine it, improve it. It’s a human and work adventure, it’s not a business.
Porcelain without limits. Limoges since 1863