Video conferencing has become a favorable proxy for site visits and team meetings, but when it comes to assessing materials for a design project, going virtual bears some challenges. French architect Pierre Yovanovitch, who credits materiality as being “the most important thing,” can attest: “You don’t understand the feeling. You don’t see the material. It’s very, very difficult.” In other words, the understudy doesn’t match up to the real act.
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Yovanovitch should know. Le Bazar de l'Opera recently tapped the AD100 designer to be the scenographer for Rigoletto, the opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi, marking a first-of-its-kind project for the firm. Known for his minimal designs, often the result of a beguiling assemblage of natural materials and Swedish, French, and American design references, Yovanovitch has been tasked with casting the 19th-century opera through a more contemporary lens.
Ahead of the stage design’s debut, Yovanovitch catches up with AD decorative arts editor Mitch Owens to discuss his career, beginning in fashion working for Pierre Cardin; his inspirations, including Jean-Michel Frank and Axel Einar Hjorth; and how his already-iconic OOPS collection came to be.
Listen to the full interview in this week’s episode of The AD Aesthete podcast below.
