Ora Ïto and Daniel Buren Celebrate French Creativity with Moët & Chandon
Designer Ora Ïto and artist Daniel Buren, who earned French President Emmanuel Macron's stamp of approval, bring artistic flair to L'OFFICIEL's centennial celebration with Moët & Chandon. With a shared modern approach that takes cues from mid-century design, the pair revel over glasses of Moët & Chandon's Grand Vintage Collection 1952.
From timepieces to sneakers to an electric bicycle, there are no limits to what French designer Ora Ïto can dream up—and make into reality.
Ïto, 44, is the biggest name in the contemporary art scene. It seems everything the Marseille-born designer touches becomes gold. His latest achievement was becoming the mediator between French President Emmanuel Macron and artist Daniel Buren, who created an artwork for the Élysée Palace. The installation of red, white, and blue panels, titled "Pavoisé," decorated the presedential palace's winter garden and was unveilled to a private audience last September.
Buren and Ïto have collaborated on several successful projects over the years, including the design of the modern Yooma hotel in Paris. The likeminded creatives recently came together once again to fête L'OFFCIEL's 100-year anniversary and Moët & Chandon's Grand Vintage Collection. Like the 1952 cuvée that flowed into their glasses, Buren and Ïto's shared creations have an effervescence that draws admirers with such force that even their country's president finds himself mesmerized.
The friendship between the Ïto and the President began in 2017, when Macron sat on a chair created by the designer during a television debate with Marine LePen. Now, two pieces signed by the prodigious creator, imagined in collaboration with the Italian designer Cassina, reside in his presidential cabinet.
Before being acclaimed by the French Republic, Ïto was already recognized for his creativity. At 20 years old, he used logos from major brands (without their permission) to create virtual objects in 3D. He then imagined a Louis Vuitton bag and an attaché-case for Apple computers. Thanks to the commotion he created, he decided to build his own namesake brand. Since then, his elegant and futurist style has touched all of the furniture and products he imagines.
The lines and the colors are sober, but nothing is left to chance. This style is called ‘’simplexity,’’ as the designer explains—a mix between a visible simplicity and a hidden complexity in design. Ïto defines his vision: ‘’Simplexity is the art of making complicated things easy. It thus consists of developing a simple response to a complex problem. To be simple without being simplistic, the job of a designer is to find a solution integrating the maximum complexity in an envelope as simple as possible in order to collect the maximum amount of constraints behind the most evident facade to understand and use.’’
Through the years, the young man has grown his portfolio of original and eclectic projects. From the smallest product to immense architecture, everything seems to inspire hime. The designer knows how to use all materials and has worked with Heineken, Guerlain, and Angel, in addition to developing the design for a hotel, cinema, and even subways. Among the entrepreneur-artist’s clients are Adidas, Toyota, Levis, Kenzo, the music group Air, Mugler, and more. The project that earned him the Chevalier des arts et des lettres prize was the creation of an art center in Marseille called Mamo. It is an exposed building above the city, a mid-century masterpiece first constructed by Le Corbusier in Marseille. ‘’Could we even find better? More powerful, more iconique more energetic that this terrasse above the air?’’ the designer once said.
Even if it is his masterpiece, Ïto will not stop there. He is more and more concerned by ecological issues and is working on the Odysseo project in his hometown. This project will be created with environmental preservation in mind. The operation will launch around 2026, with an interactive museum, a research center, and a campus to teach people jobs related to ecology, in order to create the future Ïto imagines.
