BAPTISTE VIRY

Career 

Born July 30th, 1983 in Paris, Baptiste Viry studied at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Graduating at the top of his class, he was distinguished with the St. Roch Trophy in 2006.
That same year he integrated the HERMES design studio and launched its first eponymous collection of women's ready-to-wear and accessories.

He participated in various festivals and international competitions for young designers such as Kobe in 2005 and Dinard in 2007, winning top prizes at each event.
In 2008, parallel to the women’s ready-to-wear collection, Baptiste Viry launched a jewelry and hat collection that he presented at Paris Premiere Class to resounding success.
Since 2009, Baptiste Viry has focused on developing his accessories collection of hats and jewelry to satisfy a growing demand for press and buyers.
In 2010, Emmanuelle Khanh asked him to design the first jewelry collection for the brand. He imagined a sober line directly inspired by the codes of her well-known glasses. In 2011, she entrusted him with the visual identity of the brand’s advertising campaigns.

Collections

Baptiste Viry enjoys the misappropriation and reinterpretation of objects, building his collection around these themes with detachment and derision.
Always borrowing from historical references or linking to the past, his collections shove aside traditional features, symbols, codes and outward signs of recognition and wealth.
He seeks to mislead us from our everyday benchmarks and how we might normally interpret things.

His work is inspired by souvenirs from old-fashioned city travel, bygone engravings, a relationship to time passing and everything related to the extreme especially elements which should never come into contact.

INTERVIEW

By Carole Dugelay, founder of Yellow Velvet

Tell me about the "Ab Fab" project

What was your inspiration?

A cushion being useful, hidden vices, misappropriation, losing one’s point of reference ...

Which techniques did you use?

Leather working using traditional methods, artisanal finishings, combining noble and crude materials.

I believe that you used specialized artisans.

Yes, each piece was created with the greatest of care and attention to detail.

"Les petits Souliers" or “The Little Shoes” is an exceptional cushion created in the greatest tradition of handcrafted French leather goods.

The final assembly of the shoes was personally done by me.

Your favorite deco spots

A hotel that you are particular fond of.

The "Palast Hutten" in Berlin is a project by a group of friends. Their concept is unique: "City camping under the rooftops." They have taken over a space in an old factory in the Neukölln quarter that is home to discarded caravans and vintage mobile homes.

In Paris, near Strasbourg Saint Denis there is the "Hotel Arianne". It’s a working-class hotel with a décor that has not changed since the 1940s. The place exudes the impression of time and remains frozen in its era.

A restaurant.

In Paris, « Hôtel du Nord » and «Comptoir Général ».

A shop or concept store.

In London, "Dover Street Market” which is more like multiple shops within a shop that make use of different staging techniques. For example, they will use recuperated everyday objects in a contemporary but honest reinterpretation of their former use.

Your vision of design

A designer.

No specific designer.

I like the idea of ​​working on a project without the influence of one’s peers but rather to research a personal concept. I advocate the timelessness of a product.

An object.

I would say, because our common project made ​​me think of it, the “canapé coussin” by Christiane Hoëgne.

Describe your "chez toi", your universe

Lots of furniture and objects that are misappropriated from their original use.

An apartment that is like an old workshop with lots of enormous bare white walls.

NEWS

Baptiste Viry named among the top 100 up-and-coming designers by "Les Echos", limited edition No. 100, September 2011. 

SURFACE magazine, April 2010

COSMOPOLITAIN, March 2009