Rodolphe Parente Wants to Avoid Definition With His Style

French interior designer Rodolphe Parente is a free spirit, continuously seeking inspiration from the past and his own experiences. Before founding his own studio in 2009, Parente worked with famed French designer Andrée Putman, French interior and product designer who designed the Morgans Hotel in New York and was known for her use of black and white tiles. Parente’s design ethos is characterized by tension: a dark, intense painting in an otherwise light room, or a unique blend of textures. His furniture continues this idea by reworking classics with an artistic twist: the Hunk lounge chair, for example, combines a sleek, futuristic silhouette with écume splash and classic textured upholstery.

Parente’s inspirations are unlimited—from 1930s glamour to ‘80s maximalism—but ultimately, it's his experience working with Putnam that continues to influence his work across a multitude of spaces, including private residences, restaurants,  hotels, and his own furniture line. Among Parente’s clients are Armani Privé, Cartier, and Christian Louboutin. 

Parente speaks to L’OFFICIEL about his forever-evolving, undefinable style; his background and his work with Putman; and his current projects.

L'OFFICIEL: Who inspired you to become an interior designer?

RODOLPHE PARENTE: My father, I would say. He had a construction company and all the architects came to our house to discuss their plans. Since I was a child, I have been fascinated by this dialogue between the hand and the material, between architects and places.

L’O: Where did you get your education in design?

RP: I had intended to attend a school for engineering or mathematics, but I did a complete 180 attending Beaux-Arts in Dijon, with prestigious teachers such as Daniel Rolland for drawing.

L’O: Did you ever feel disoriented by the high-art world?

RP: I had to reprogram myself. I spent all my time in the library, trying to learn everything about everything. I think that the fact that I wasn’t raised in this art-centric culture probably helped me learn more and more quickly.

L’O: How does your experience shape your vision?

RP: I looked at this artistic universe that transcended me with new eyes. I remember the exhibitions at the Dijon Consortium on the work of Barbara and Michael Leisgen, or those of Yayoi Kusama. It was sublime! After the Beaux-Arts, I attended the Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg, then the ÉCAL/University of Art and Design Lausanne, where I met artists who inspired me.

"The important thing is to understand what my customers want: their uses, rituals, and lifestyles."

L’O: How did you get connected to Andrée Putman?

RP: I was fortunate enough to be commissioned very early on, with projects such as the renovation of the Morgans Hotel in New York. I think that my enthusiasm and energy made her realize immediately that I wanted to do interior architecture as well as furniture. Andrée told me a phrase that resonates with me: "If you don’t dare, you’ve already lost.” And she said to me, "I’m a Buddhist, so I want to evoke my conviction, anything is possible.” With her, I learned to relate with spirituality and look at materials differently.  

L’O: Interesting!

RP: It was a totally unexpected way of working. I liked her desire to move things, her meticulous attention to things. I created a project of rare beauty and singularity because I had a client to trust. Her way of radiating a material was very interesting.

L’O: Tell us about your style...

RP: I want to avoid definition; it’s [all about the] context of the project. The important thing is to understand what my customers want: their uses, rituals, and lifestyles.

L’O: Is there an inspiration that often comes back to your work?

RP: A tent by Félix González-Torres. I love these very simple materials that say so much and at the same time introduce a sense of immateriality. There are also images taken from the work of James Turrell and his relationship with space, color, and perspective. I don’t watch what my contemporaries do; I don’t care. I am more interested in a dress by Jean Paul Gaultier embroidered with a certain gradation, because there is something interesting to catch. I’m an interior designer, so I’m interested in the volumes, materials, light, movement, gestures, how you open a drawer, how you close the door of a wardrobe, what noise that door makes. This is what interests me and what I find in the artists' experiments. 

L’O: How do you express your love of craftsmanship in your projects?  

RP: All designers have an extremely strong relationship with craftsmanship. I like to spend my time in the laboratories, to understand objects, materials, and how to make an embroidery or how to fold a fabric, so that it can be transposed into other worlds. We use these skills when they lead to something new. The greatest complexity of our work is to know when to give up and make it understood by our customers.

L’O: What are some of your current projects?

RP: I’m working with Marion Mailaender on a sports arena, the famous Ken Club. Next year, we will be delivering the legendary hotel Le Provençal in Juan-les-Pins, for which we have thought about how to maintain the charm of this family-run hotel, with its generosity and its somewhat old-fashioned style. We will also design a hotel in Rome for the Experimental Group. As someone who has both an Italian passport [Parente’s father is from Abruzzo] and a French one, this hotel is a gift. We also have a residency project in Pantelleria where writers, artists, designers, and geologists will be invited... We’re also working on a house in the Hamptons.

L’O: Tell us about your work as a furniture designer. Some of your pieces have just been purchased by the Mobilier National.

RP: I designed about ten pieces:chairs and lighting, with different variations. The furniture was launched through projects from the very beginning of the agency. It is a product that has its own life. I am both interior designer and designer. This dual role suits me perfectly.

L’O: Which artists distinguished themselves this season at Art Basel Paris?

RP: My favorites are Jesse Darling from Sultana and Osama Al Rayyan from Federico Vavassori.