Tatler Style

A New Hope Newly crowned Maison&Objet Designer of the Year Raphael Navot champions natural materials and time-tested craft traditions through the tactile and emotional properties of his work

- Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle

Raphael Navot is an advocate of a "natural future". The Paris-based designer defends the idea of natural materials as they form a patina over time, age well, and have longer lifespans. Surrounding himself with a team of craftspeople, they work together to respect the essence and push the limits of materials.

He explains: "When a material has a natural or handmade motif, I intuitively relate to it. The natural world is incredibly rich and has surpassed any imagined design possible. It's a great source of knowledge for me. Another source is the artisans themselves as they are the closest to the material and the accumulated knowledge. The reason why I am so involved in the making of the pieces is to benefit from these encounters and to learn about the limits and advantages of each craft."

A recent example is Le 39V, a rooftop restaurant in Paris. Navot incorporated a blue-and-grey colour palette, circular textile-padded walls and ceilings in cocooning spaces with sinks sculpted from granite, and its end-grain parquet flooring carved like butcher’s blocks.