EXCLUSIVE: L’Objet Fetes 20 Years With Ruan Hoffmann’s Provocative Designs, Plans India Debut
PARIS — Elad Yifrach continues to grow L’Objet, the brand he founded in Los Angeles in 2005, on a global level.
After opening a store in New York’s Upper East Side and a Paris flagship in 2023, the Israel-born designer told WWD that his company will cut the ribbon on its first store in India by the end of the year, in New Delhi, with another store opening in London slated for the end of January.
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“India is so exciting because it’s a completely new venture, but it’s also one of the most exciting markets in the world today because they have crazy growth potential. They’re experiencing a very healthy and unique growth that you don’t find in other global markets…,” he said, adding that the brand has great potential to also penetrate the Middle East market. L’Objet already has a boutique inside Bloomingdale’s Dubai in the Dubai Mall. “We’re growing more and more every year in the region. The Gulf area is our third biggest market,” Yifrach said.
A major driver for L’Objet is its direct-to-consumer business, which is helped by a streamlined distribution strategy. “We are also investing a lot in building that relationship and delivering first-in-class service and experience,” he said.
Yifrach, who is based in Lisbon, said the firm’s upcoming collection for Paris Design Week, which will launch Friday, will feature tongue-in-cheek elements by South African ceramic artist Ruan Hoffmann.
The Ruan Hoffmann collection features two candles, a diffuser, two special plates, a trio of vide poche plates, a duo of medium bowls, mugs and a coupe bowl — each hand-sculpted by its master artisans.
“I just love his cheekiness. And I thought it would make a great project…I also like objects that carry a message and still embody our craftsmanship and our unique know-how of mixing materials and mixing different techniques,” he said. Hoffmann’s creations are awash in vivid colors and emblazoned with cheeky messages like “Love you more,” and “I can still smell you.”
Yifrach was enthusiastic about the messaging. “Imagine somebody giving it to you. It’s like, now it’s in writing, and it’s there. You can’t top that.”
Hoffmann told WWD that all of his designs are first painted in gouache, a water-based paint, and are then produced in ceramic, using techniques developed by L’Objet’s artisans.
“People pick up on a sense of humor that naturally manifests and veers toward the absurd side of life but for me, it is much closer to the human experience, as are my objects which are slightly off-kilter,” the artist said.
Other landmark collaborations involved the Los Angeles-based Haas Brothers, who flew to Portugal to manually work and sculpt each prototype by hand before molds were made ready for porcelain pouring. Known for their fantastical, wild designs, the Haas Brothers made the Little Monsters masks for the Lady Gaga Fame perfume print campaign in 2012.
In a lot of ways the Paris store was a major pivot for L’Objet. The store is situated at 30 Rue Jacob in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés neighborhood and, with the opening, Yifrach said L’Objet ushered in a new era of “elegance and sophistication” for the brand.
Yifrach founded L’Objet after a freshman collection of ceramics caught the eye of a buyer at Bergdorf Goodman.
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