At this year’s Milan Design Week, Hermès has eschewed the traditional showroom format in favor of a topographical exercise. The French house’s 2026 home collection is presented within an expansive field of beechwood volumes—a low-lying grid of plinths and raised elements designed by architect Charlotte Macaux Perelman. The installation functions as a physical map, where the domestic interior is treated not as a static room, but as a landscape to be navigated.
The arrangement suggests a philosophy of placement over mere decoration. As visitors move through the loose grid, sightlines shift, revealing objects perched like landmarks across a miniature city. Macaux Perelman’s design encourages the viewer to adopt the perspective of a traveler, observing how the alignment of a vessel or the curve of a table creates a sense of orientation within a space. In this context, the objects serve as coordinates, defining the boundaries and flow of an imagined home.
Central to this map is a marble table by Barber and Osgerby, shaped in a soft figure-eight. While the material suggests a certain permanence and weight, the slim legs and marquetry surface—referencing the brand’s equestrian heritage—lend it a surprising visual lightness. Surrounding it are vessels of hammered palladium, their textures shifting under the light, occasionally wrapped in leather or horsehair. It is a study in how material contrasts and precise positioning can transform a collection of furniture into a coherent, navigable environment.
With reporting from Designboom.
Source · Designboom
