Harry Nuriev

Everyone has a great story about how they were initially inspired, but for me, interior design was always, and still is, a lot of work. In design, there are many areas to explore and when I started, I immediately wanted to create my own approach. I tried to think outside the box and not get stuck in the idea that my practice should be limited to interior design, architecture or styling. I experimented with different materials without defining anything.

When I graduated, I felt like a lot of things had already been done in the field of design. While fashion was full of beautiful references, design at that time was rather boring. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about mid-century design, but rather that of my generation. Nothing was really happening… so I decided to do something different.

For New York, the reason was quite simple really: I was in love with the city. Like many, I dreamed of discovering the design scene there. I saw furniture design as a small form of architecture. Something to absorb, touch and take home, without having to put a title on the practice. I quickly discovered that New York was the best place to talk about furniture design and create a dialogue around it, as there are an incredible number of art fairs. My first show was during design week. I came in fresh, not really knowing what to expect or where I would end up. All I know is I never left.

Fashion is indeed very connected to my practice. When I started working, I thought about what I could bring to design. Most designers are inspired by previous designs or imagine what design could be in the future. Sometimes they just capture what’s going on at the moment. I’ve noticed that really good designs are often inspired by art, other designs or architecture, but never by fashion. The problem is that architecture is a monumental statement that belongs to the city. Fashion, on the contrary, is easier to understand, more familiar. Everyone knows what denim is.

Chalayan was inspired by architecture and furniture design, but his practice was a rather rare and experimental experience. I realized that the only thing I could bring to design was fashion. I always dreamed of fashion, the first magazine I read was Vogue. Growing up, there were no museums around, so all my inspiration came from movies. I think I just translated my fashion dream into furniture design and now I have the space to create something new and develop a story around it.

A good comparison would be to see it as a new alphabet or design language built through a fashion lens. Everything else was already taken and I’ve always been attracted to fashion, so it made sense.

I consider denim to be the ultimate material of our generation, of our century even. It may age and be destroyed, but it never loses its value. On the contrary, it gets better with time. People embrace denim, brands even push it forward with Couture, for example. I wanted to capture this moment through furniture. I see interiors as an extension of our personal style, our furniture should match our personality…

To be honest, I create things for myself and rarely think about the end consumer. But at the opening, I paid a lot of attention to the feedback. Most of the people I saw interested in the Sofa Pool were women from Saint-Germain, instead of who I thought it would be: my friends, fashion people or rappers. I feel like the simplicity of the furniture can fit in your apartment, like your jeans. If you can associate Hermes with a pair of jeans, you can associate this sofa with an apartment in Saint-Germain.

I made samples in my apartment to understand the softness of the textile. Then we developed it here with the gallery and friends.

I work according to needs and lifestyles. With this sofa, the idea was to go back to an Ancient Rome kind of lifestyle: people would lie down, eat and talk in public spaces. Our lifestyle revolves around the couch: we eat, watch Netflix, and work. Instead of fighting against it, I decided to embrace it. My work is about pushing the boundaries and seeing what is missing today. It’s not about adding something on top of what already exists.

Upcycling is just a method of working with materials. Transformation is a philosophy and a way of life in its own right. It brings History to reflect on function. Transforming is a philosophy of life and thought.

I found the French as open-minded as the New Yorkers. The Parisians, anyway. I think there’s a different angle to the same conversation. What I like about France is that it’s important to know the exact definition of every criterion of an object. Here, there is a respect for history and for theory. People like to know why they think what they think.

I do like to have personal conversations. I’m not one for group conversations, but rather one-on-one. I like dates where you can connect with someone. I think my furniture is very sensitive to what I like and I often compare it to a decanting process. The idea is to shake things up and let the substance dissolve to reveal only the essential. The world moves so fast that people have a hard time concentrating. I like to extract what is important in order to make a real connection with people.

I would add that this collection could only have been created in France, because I think the French are ready to welcome a new avant-garde. Regardless of what some may say, France has always been a country of the avant-garde. The French are not conservative, they just want the best.