Awakening to new worlds

Leriche took a cue from Douanier Rousseau’s paintings to create an outsized version of an enchanted jungle where powerful nature has retaken control and is running wild. “There’s a real awareness that our planet is in danger, so I created these dreamlike scenographies where there is also a realization that we must save nature, so I staged a theme around vegetation and luxuriance,” Leriche says. “I believe nowadays we have to re-enchant our lives. Times are difficult; we live in a world that feels less and less tangible, so there’s a need to reconnect with nature.” 

Meta Vegetal interiors bring this connection through an immersion that is not literal but imaginary, through a world of lushness, a profusion of shapes, patterns, and shimmering colors. Plant and floral patterns rub shoulders with geometric patterns in a hypnotic universe, against a background of intense and deep greens that are complemented and enriched by purples and mauves. At CITEM’s DesignPhilippines pavilion dubbed Artipelago, exporters like Tadeco and Finali were inspired by our lush forests and flora to create artisanal pieces that bring nature to the home in an immersive, art-gallery setting.

Deep sea

Evoking the abysmal depths, this theme explores a still largely unexplored ocean whose role is essential: a climate regulator and inexhaustible source of biomaterials. “It is a world of invisible fluidity that is revealed here, absorbing us in aquatic metaphors,” says Leriche. This universe summons flexible and undulating shapes, the effects of transparency and reflection, reliefs inspired by the organic forms of jellyfish, shells, and corals. Young companies that are developing ecologically designed products are highlighted, like Ostrea, which uses discarded oyster and mussel shells and Tomatis, which works with new materials made of algae instead of plastic to help preserve our planet.

Mineral desert

After the lushness of the plant world and the fluidity of water, minerals bring us back to earth in a desert setting, where Leriche evokes protection through a tent with a warm and comforting feeling. There is also a sense of opening to an expansive landscape since one can see the horizon line in the desert. At the same time, there is a meditative and calming effect. The ambiance is created with natural colors like terracotta, ocher, and sand. Objects look very organic, with the notion of waves, which remind us of sand dunes. Primitive and elementary forms are linked to a spiritual dimension carried by a need for reconnection to silence. Stones and ceramics are adorned with the colors of the earth, with raw materials found in sculptural and totemic constructions. A certain sensuality is evoked through soft fabrics—cashmere, felt, linen— which also provide a sense of protection.