The Tamesis
Matter and Shape, the carefully curated design fair that has quickly become a must-see during Paris Fashion Week, has returned to the Jardin des Tuileries for its third edition. The show, which opens on Friday and runs until Monday, March 9, is brought to town specifically within the fashion industry to help open the world of design to new audiences.
More of a salon than a trade show, Matter and Shape offers a new vision of what a design event can be and who should be – catering to an era when the fashion world is increasingly turning its sights to interiors and the home. The crowd includes stylists, hoteliers, shopkeepers, restaurateurs, students, tastemakers and creative directors, as well as the usual suspects of magazine editors, museum curators, artists and gallerists. like interview Editor-in-chief Mel Ottenberg and German photographer Wolfgang Tillmans were spotted poring over the show’s textiles, tableware, lighting, fragrances, ceramics and furniture from independent designers, architects, heritage brands, family businesses and galleries.
Photo: Mikael Lorca
Of course, the cross-pollination between fashion and design isn’t entirely new. “I think the great fashion creative directors have always been curators,” said Dan Thawley, a Paris-based Australian writer, editor and creative consultant who is responsible for the show’s creative direction. “When you look at the homes of great fashion designers, you see the books they collected, the furniture they chose to live in, the various objects they placed around them for inspiration… The best of them have always created stunning spaces, but now the intersection between art, fashion and design is communicating in an even more obvious way.”
In its third year alone, the show’s exhibitor list more than doubled from the first, jumping from 30 to more than 70 exhibitors. (2026’s “Scale” theme is inspired by Rem Koolhaas and Bruce Mao’s seminal 1995 monograph on architecture S, M, L, XL.) Monies’ sculptural jewelry and a recycled leather jacket in the cushions of a Le Corbusier-style armchair by Julie Kegels are on display alongside a delicate shell sugar bowl from Tavares 1922, a dreamy perfume from Frama and a geometric side table from architectural giant Herzog & de Meuron. In addition to exhibitors, Matter and Shape also features spaces for pause and contemplation, including a reading room in collaboration with Villa Hegra, Parisian hotspot Dreamin’ Man Café in collaboration with Zara Home, and a pop-up restaurant designed by creative cooking studio Balbosté. “I like to think of matter and shape as a curated odyssey through a magazine,” Soli muses.
“We live in an age where we think everything can be accessed and understood within seconds via the internet,” he continued. “But the reality is that there are still a lot of loopholes and hidden trap doors to be discovered – fifth-generation family businesses are cleaning out their archives and connections are being made between film, food, fashion and these fantastic disciplines. I want to celebrate all of that because design is also how you live your life.”
