The Centre du Luxe et de la Création, a French think tank dedicated to creators and luxury players, has awarded its Talents d’Or 2024. The ceremony, organized at the close of the Sommet du Luxe et de la Création, crowned Antoine Courtois, President of the Ateliers De France group. The winners of this year’s awards notably showcase the Burgundy-Franche Comté region. LUXUS PLUS, once again a partner of the event, was present at the Hotel Intercontinental Paris – Le Grand.
Every year since 2002, the Centre du Luxe et de la Création has honored the expertise and excellence of designers and managers from the luxury sector.
The eclectic selection is representative of all the professions in the sector, from fashion to arts and crafts, architecture and gastronomy.
In detail, nine talents are rewarded for their embodiment of one of the key values of luxury (audacity, well-being, elegance, harmony, innovation, invention, originality, rarity and seduction) and three others for their exceptional career (Management, Empreinte de l’année and Talent d’Or). Two special jury and Metiers d’Art awards complete the list of winners.
Jacques Carles, President of the Centre du Luxe et de la Création and the entire jury reward them for their singularity, their genius and the power of their creations to influence the world.
Heritage in majesty
The Talent d’or 2024 was awarded to Antoine Courtois, President of Ateliers De France group. This French group specializes in heritage restoration and luxury works. It brings together some fifty companies specializing in the trades of decor, wood, metal, marble and stone, as well as high-end fittings. Ateliers de France employs 2,200 journeymen and has sales of 580 million euros in 2023.
An Arts et Métiers engineer and DPLG architect, Antoine Courtois began his career in 1991 at Atelier Mériguet-Carrère, marking the start of his collaboration with Paul Mériguet, founder of this renowned workshop. At his side, he discovered the subtleties of the art of decorative painting, gilding and decor restoration. Together, they worked on prestigious sites such as the Parlement de Bretagne, the grand foyer of the Opéra Garnier, churches in the Alps and the Palais de l’Elysée. This rich experience led to his promotion to president of Atelier Mériguet-Carrère. Under his impetus, the studio gradually began to specialize in luxury goods.
His discovery of the high decoration and restoration trades convinced him to bring together companies with a wide range of expertise within the Mériguet group in 2006, which became Ateliers de France in 2018. Since then, the group has carved out a fine reputation in the hushed world of luxury, with projects for Notre-Dame de Paris, the Château de Versailles, the Peninsula London Hotel, the White House Oval Office and the Eiffel Tower.
Pierre-Yves Morel is the other exceptional artist who caught the jury’s attention. His rare skills in oil painting and beer glazing, which are capable of dusting off “outdated” techniques, earned him the Empreinte Prize of the year.
In a research project to be presented in 2021 entitled “Les Aliénés du Mobilier National”, this illusionist of materials used his technique to imitate marble, giving a second life to a faded 19th-century wooden bookcase and integrating it into the precious collection of this prestigious institution.
Graduating with a DNAP and then a Master’s degree from the Ecole supérieure des Arts in Strasbourg in 2014, he was awarded the silver medal following his training at the Van der Kelen-Logelain Institute in Brussels, an internationally renowned school of decorative painting. He has worked for luxury brands such as Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton and Chaumet.
Unexpected contemporary techniques
Among the winners of the Talents du luxe 2024 was the Prix des Métiers d’Art. This year, the prize was awarded ex-aequo to two talents who brilliantly revisit the traditional skills of plumasserie and marquetry.
Julien Vermeulen is one of the few French plumbers still working today. This profession, which 100 years ago was one of the Top 2 fashion trades in France, employing up to 75,000 people, now numbers just 15 professionals nationwide. It was an encounter with the House of Jean-Paul Gaultier during an internship that prompted this holder of a BTS in fashion design obtained in 2012 to complete his course with a specialized CAP, validated two years later. He was only 23 when he founded Maison Vermeulen. His career has been marked by numerous awards, including the Grand Prix de la Création de la Ville de Paris in 2016 and the Prix de la Fondation Bettencourt pour l’Intelligence de la Main in 2018, culminating in his obtaining the title of Master Feather Craftsman in 2022. This year, the Rémy Cointreau Foundation helped him acquire weaving design software.
Rose Saneuil specializes in multi-material marquetry. A graduate of the Ecole Boulle, she overturns codes by developing her own technique that creates an unusual harmony with equally original materials. Her work brings together burr walnut, plane tree, mesh, bone, mother-of-pearl, leather, amaranth, zinc, shagreen, brass, gold leaf, eggshell, mica, quartz and immortelle petals. Since then, she has created exceptional pieces for the great Maisons of Place Vendôme such as Piaget – for the past 9 years – , Louis Vuitton and Jaubalet, as well as non-jewelry brands such as Montblanc and Davidoff.
Last but not least, Sophie Labbé and Baptiste Loiseau, senior perfumer and cellar master respectively, won the Rarity Talent Award for Maison Psyché. The duo seek to revive the tradition of great perfumery of the 19th century. This tradition combined excellence in perfumery, cooperage, crystal and bronze. The new brand is the brainchild of Eric Vallat, CEO of Rémy Cointreau. He had the idea of applying to perfume the know-how of eaux-de-vie, which owe their letters of nobility to slow maturation. The two artisans created a series of 5 fragrances with names evocative of butterflies, the symbol of metamorphosis: Alexanor, Belle-Dame, Alcyone, Nymphalis and Hamadryas. Combining science and mystery, the House promises blends including mythical raw materials (bergamot from Calabria, rose from Grasse, jasmine from India, patchouli from Indonesia and vanilla from Madagascar). These fragrances, produced in very small batches (200 pieces) and sold in numbered bottles made by Baccarat and gilded with fine gold, can be discovered at the brand’s Place Vendôme showroom, inaugurated last November.
An inspiring nature
Maison Psyché is not the only House to draw its inspiration from the splendors lavished by Mother Nature.
Winner of the Talent de l’originalité award, Capucine Huguet transposes this gesture to jewelry through her own Maison, Capucine H. Her collections are inspired by her personal experiences of contact with the planet, whether it be a trip to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, where she discovered the ravages of climate change (Wahlenbergbreen Mementos), the challenge of protecting phytoplankton (Téthys) or a volunteer mission in a nature reserve that raised her awareness of biodiversity protection in Costa Rica (collection under development).
Her naturally committed jewelry is handcrafted, using recycled materials in both 18-carat gold and silver. The stones are sourced from “ethical mines”, while Capucine Huguet refuses to use rhodium to bleach the gold. Her commitment to the environment goes even further, with part of her proceeds going to a company that has developed a technology for capturing greenhouse gases. Nominated for the Talents du luxe 2022 award, this graduate of the Haute école de Joaillerie in Paris and Central Saint Martins in London has already won numerous prizes, including the Grand Prix of the 36th Festival d’Hyères (2021), the Prix RSE Francéclat (2023) and the Prix Alchimiste in the Savoir-faire category (2023). It has recently collaborated with brands such as Desrues and La Maison du Chocolat.
Equally committed to preserving nature, Gaspard Moustier, co-founder of Coucoo Cabanes, which specializes in designing atypical accommodations, won the Talent du Management award. A promoter of responsible tourism, in 2009 he founded “Les Cabanes des Grands Lacs”, France’s first eco-domain of floating cabins, contributing to the appeal of his native Franche-Comté region. This unique experience enables visitors to reconnect with nature on a site comprising 25 to 30 accommodations on surfaces ranging from 30 to 150 hectares. The concept has been extended to 5 other cabin estates. It has recently expanded its horizons with La Cabane en l’Air, the first treehouse marketing network.
Alabaster and light
The fourteen alabaster trophies were illuminated on stage and designed by Atelier Alain Ellouz. A veritable goldsmith of stone and scenographer of light, the company is a master in the creation of designer lighting and exceptional architectural projects using two unexpected materials: alabaster and rock crystal.
“It’s an honor for our workshop and a pleasure to share with the winners the beauty of alabaster, which has changed my life. Today, I work to help other creators make the most of their talents. That’s why I’ve decided to present this year’s trophies to the winners of the Talents du Luxe et de la Création awards”, declared Alain Ellouz, CEO of the eponymous Atelier.
Full prize list
TALENT DE L’AUDACE: Alcée and Benoît Montfort, founder of Maison Alcée, exceptional watchmaking gift sets.
TALENT FOR WELL-BEING: Pierre and Jean-Louis Brun, respectively President and General Manager of Brun de Vian-Tiran, a manufacturer of noble fibers.
TALENT FOR ELEGANCE: ex-aequo Eleonore Cavalli, artistic director of the interior design house Visionnaire, and Alain Marhic, co-founder and CEO of French watches March LA.B.
TALENT FOR HARMONY: ex-aequo Anasthasia Millot, furniture designer, Fodor, art foundry and Pierre Salagnac, art bronzier and sculptor, Pierre Salagnac
TALENT FOR INNOVATION: Thierry and Laurent Delles, solid surface joiners and cabinet-makers, managers of Créa diffusion.
TALENT FOR INVENTION: Sylvie Deschamps, gold-thread embroiderer – maître d’art, and Marlène Rouhaud, gold-thread embroiderer, Le Bégonia d’Or.
TALENT FOR ORIGINALITY: Capucine Huguet, jewelry designer, founder of Capucine H
TALENT FOR RARETY: Sophie Labbé, Senior Perfumer and Baptiste Loiseau, Cellar Master, Maison Psyché.
TALENT FOR PRODUCTION: Camille and Guillaume Boillot, Associate Winemakers, C & G Boillot
MANAGEMENT TALENT: Gaspard de Moustier, Co-founder of Coucoo Cabanes, architect of progressive tourism.
EMPREINTE DE L’ANNÉE: Pierre-Yves Morel, decorative painter, Pierre-Yves Morel
PRIX SPÉCIAL DES MÉTIERS D’ART: Julien Vermeulen, plumassier, Maison Vermeulen and Rose Saneuil, Marqueterie multi-matières, Rose Saneuil
JURY’S SPECIAL PRIZE: Philippe Lebru, watchmaker and director of Manufacture UTINAM
GOLDEN TALENT: Antoine Courtois, President of the Ateliers De France group
Read also > [INTERVIEW] GAINERIE 91 UNVEILS JOHÉ BRUNEAU, FIRST ARTIST TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GENÈSE MOVEMENT
Featured Photo: © E. Legouhy/Talents du Luxe/Centre du Luxe et de la Création
