Keeping It Local

At this year’s 100% Design South Africa show in Joburg, Source IBA presented Afrotel, a unique hotel-design proposal that showcased a new concept in African hospitality

- Tiaan Nagel

In my previous life as a fashion designer, I stayed in some spectacular hotels around the world. Manufacturing in Hong Kong meant I was occasionally a guest at The Jervois, with interiors by designer Christian Liaigre. And as most of the fabric fairs take place in Paris, when there I alternated between Hôtel du Petit Moulin by fashion designer Christian Lacroix and Philippe Starck’s Murano Urban resort. Press liaisons were in New York, so when budget permitted, I slept at the classic-meets-contemporary Crosby Street Hotel by British writer Kit Kemp.

These hotel stays have informed my aesthetic in general, but they also got me thinking about what I’d do if I were ever asked to create a hotel’s interiors. I would jump from choosing a severely minimalist but sophisticated interior like those of The Jervois, or something with a more eclectic personality, such as the Petit Moulin.