We are in the heart of CittĂ Studi, a seemingly quiet Milanese neighborhood, yet pervaded by a cultural vibrancy that few others can boast. A few minutes from Bar Basso – a must-see crossroads of Milan’s Salone del Mobile nightlife – and in the midst of tree-lined streets with buildings with a Gothic allure, stands L’appartement, a truly private apartment, located on the ground floor and fronted by a charming garden, taken over by the perfumery maison L’Artisan Parfumeur. The occasion is the fiftieth anniversary of the iconic Parisian brand, which, to celebrate such an important milestone, chooses Milan Design Week to launch a project with a unique flavor, or rather, pardon me, scent in collaboration with Parisian collector Antoine Billore.
Billore had caught my curiosity on Instagram a while back, not only because of a particularly ironic bio – “Stolen objects from my exes” – but mostly because of the distinctiveness and beauty of her collections. Unusual and hybrid pieces mingle with touches of antique and oriental charm, amid candles and yellow tulips that pervade the entire apartment with a cozy, sensory and even countercultural atmosphere. Billore’s eye is curious, eclectic, torn between the importance of memory and experimentation. There is a desire to be daring in the juxtapositions of his archival pieces, yet without taking himself too seriously but letting himself be carried away by a lightness that smells of travel, discovery, exploration.
There is no specific obsession for a designer to be a designer of choice: the French collector’s taste is driven by pure instinct but also by the creativity of giving obsolete and even somewhat forgotten objects a new function, without any sense of nostalgia. Appartement curated together with L’Artisan Parfumeur reflects the personality of an indefatigable traveler always ready to set out on a new adventure, collecting disjointed pieces of beauty that, put together, manage to recreate an unusually perfect harmony.
Among Persian rugs, animal portraits, solid wood chairs, small handcrafted masterpieces and inlaid panels, even the bathroom reflects this taste for contamination, with the whole olfactory world of L’Artisan Parfumeur perfectly integrated, among cleansing gels, moisturizing lotions and the iconic amber ball. L’Appartement awaits you at 2 Via Giovanni Lulli until April 24.
[đź“· Instagram: lorenzobises]
