Recreating a luxurious Parisian art de vivre in your home is now made even more accessible with the opening of the high-end French furniture brand Roche Bobois in the country.

 

As its first store in Southeast Asia, Roche Bobois Manila (1120 Don Chino Roces Ave. [Pasong Tamo Extension], Makati City), showcases the brand’s contemporary furniture designs and classic pieces “dressed” by French haute-couture icon Jean Paul-Gaultier, Italian fashion house Missoni, and Kenzo Maison fabrics. Manila is now one of over 250 Roche Bobois stores in 45 countries worldwide.

 

The collection’s pièce de résistance, sitting at the center of the showroom, is the timeless Mah Jong furniture designed in 1971 by painter, sculptor and designer Hans Hopfer. Mah Jong is the signature piece of the brand that reflected the nonconformist times of the ’70s—a “free-form” modular seating that paved the way for the informal approach to home entertaining.

 

Mah Jong comes in three distinct parts that can be arranged according to the whims of its owner: ottoman, armless chair (backrest only) and corner chair. Have the ottoman sit on its own, or stack them up, or prop up an armless or corner chair over the chair Get three pieces or 12 or even 20, depending on the size of your home—and pocket.

 

“The design possibilities of Mah Jong are endless,” said Eugene Lorenzana, managing director of Roche Bobois Manila. “At night you can change the layout, maybe make the sofa higher for older people, or turn it into a bed. You can dress them up with designer fabrics or mix-and-match them without fabric selection.”

 

Roche Bobois, said Lorenzana, is for people who love comfort, style and luxury in their homes. They also carry the brand’s home accessories line, such as flute vases made of air Murano glass that come in playful colors, Madison & Square desk clock in ceramic with bronze finish, and even wallpapers—all made in France and Italy.

 

Attention to detail is a given, Lorenzana continued. Propped on a leather sofa, for instance, is a throw pillow with suede leather on one side to prevent it from slipping down to the floor. Hand-stitched and handmade, Mah Jong ensures the strictest quality is met.

 

Modern, clean lines are prominent in the works of industrial designer Sacha Lakic. His sleek, all-white office table was inspired from a stealth fighter plane; its triangular desk mimics the plane’s wings and sensuous curve at the base, giving the piece a sense of motion and speed.

 

Also on display is Ava, the armchair in polyamide camel finish designed by Roche Bobois’ first Asian designer, the Chinese Song Wen Zhong. It is the first of the projects borne out of the Roche Bobois Design Awards competition held in China, said Lorenzana.

 

“We have a complete home line, from bedroom to lamps, from living to dining,” he said. “Many Asians lean toward conservative colors and wooden legs, the classic, ‘tried-and-tested’ furniture designs. But with the rise of many young couples today we believe Asians will warm up to more bolder designs and colors.”

 

The Fleur de Fer dining table is a work of art sculpted from one block of iron heated to over 1,000ºC. Save for the rectangular glass top that serves as the second piece, this elegant table is shaped and molded from one iron—no bolts, no joints needed. If glass is your thing, they also have black glass top tables with leather base.

 

In fact, one gets to customize furniture with more than 70 leather choices. Although Filipinos normally buy the ones on the floor, Lorenzana said it takes about four months to ship to the country made-to-order pieces.

 

Roche Bobois launches twice a year an exclusive new collection, and opens at least one store somewhere in the world each month. It will also add French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel in its impressive roster of design collaboration with fashion icons.

 

In Manila, Lorenzana said they are planning to bring in the Nouveaux Classiques next year that features traditional French heritage craftsmanship, from fragrant woods, materials and finishes. For now, Filipinos will have an eyeful of the cutting-edge works that symbolizes the essence of modern French living from the house’s Les Contemporains line.