Design Miami.Paris 2024 Honorary Committee

The Design Miami.Paris Honorary Committee has been established as an expression of our utmost gratitude to a select group of individuals, each of whom have played an integral role in bringing Design Miami.Paris 2024 to fruition this October 15-20, 2024.

India Mahdavi

INIDA MAHDAVI STUDIO – ARCHITECT, INTERIOR DESIGNER

Architect, designer and scenographer, India Mahdavi is based in Paris. Founded in 2000, her studio is known for the diversity of its international projects which explore the fields of architecture, interior design, scenography, furniture and object design – all based in one single street, rue Las Cases. India Mahdavi is known for creating unique environments, combining a modern sense of comfort and elegance with color and humour – a cross-cultured art de vivre. Polyglotte & polychrome, India Mahdavi has become a signature, offering a special vocabulary that is joyful, cosmopolite and elegant all at the same time.

Amin Jaffer

THE AL THANI COLLECTION - DIRECTOR

Dr. Amin Jaffer is Director of The Al Thani Collection, an encyclopedic holding of more than 5,000 works of art spanning millenia, representing the vision of His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Abdullah Al Thani. Previously Senior Curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), London, and International Director of Asian Art at Christie’s, Jaffer has authored and edited a number of works including Furniture from British India and Ceylon (V&A, 2001), Luxury Goods: the art of the Indian cabinet-maker (2002) and Made for Maharajas: A Design Diary of Princely India (2006). Jaffer was co-curator of the V&A’s blockbuster exhibition Encounters: The Meeting of Asia and Europe, 1500–1800 (2004) and Maharaja: The Splendour of India’s Royal Courts (2009) and was co-editor of the associated books. He edited Beyond Extravagance: A Royal Collection of Gems and Jewels (2013, second edition 2019) and co-curated the exhibition From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from the Al Thani Collection at the Grand Palais, Paris, and the Palazzo Ducale, Venice (2017). In 2018 he curated a double exhibition in the Forbidden City, Beijing, Treasures from the Al Thani Collection, and edited the associated publications. Working with Martin Chapman, he co-curated East Meets West: Jewels of the Maharajas from the Al Thani Collection at the Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco (2018–2019). In 2019 he curated Man, God and Nature in the Ancient World: Masterpieces from the Al Thani Collection at Tokyo National Museum. In 2020, Jaffer was commissioning editor of the book Hôtel Lambert written by Patrick Mauriès and illustrated with photographs from Robert Polidori. Jaffer oversaw the creation of The Al Thani Collection museum space at the Hôtel de la Marine, Paris, which opened to critical acclaim in November 2021. Since its inception, the space has presented exhibitions in partnership with prestigious institutions such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon; the Galleria Giorgio Franchetti alla Ca D’Oro, Venice; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. In November 2023, the Diriyah Biennale Foundation announced his nomination as Artistic Director of the Islamic Arts Biennale which will take place in Jeddah from January to May 2025.

Chris Dercon

FONDATION CARTIER POUR L'ART CONTEMPORAIN - MANAGING DIRECTOR

Chris Dercon is a director of cultural institutions, who has worked with design throughout his career, starting with a project with Robbrecht en Daem on the extension of Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam in the second half of the 90’s. At the same time, he worked with Rem Koolhaas OMA’s advising the architects on several cultural infrastructure projects. At Haus der Kunst in the beginning of the 2000’s Dercon developed exhibitions of Droog Design, Konstantin Grcic, Herzog de Meuron, Rem Koolhaas, Martin Margiela, Carlo Mollino and Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion at Haus der Kunst in Munich. At Tate Modern, Dercon ended his five-year tenure as Director of Tate Modern with the major contributions to a new publication which includes conversations between Dercon and architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, as well as landscape architect Günther Vogt, and interior designer Jasper Morrison. At the Volksbuhne in Berlin, Chris Dercon worked with architect Francis Kere. In Paris, Chris Dercon has worked with Francois Chatillon and Atelier Senzu on the renovation of the Grand Palais in Paris. He is currently working on the future building of the Fondation Cartier with Jean Nouvel and with graphic designers DeValence and Locomotion. In the spring of 2024, the exhibition Design and Sport, initiated by Dercon and curated by Konstantin Grcic opened at Musée du Luxembourg.

Laurent Bourgois & Caroline Sarkozy

CSLB STUDIO – ARCHITECTS, DESIGNERS

Caroline SARKOZY and Laurent BOURGOIS created their partnership in 2003 and have since realized projects for luxury private and corporate clients all over the world. Our office can respond to all services needed in architecture and design. Attention to quality and detail are the essence of all our projects. Projects are thoroughly controlled, and great care is taken in choosing on site teams of highly qualified contractors and craftsmen in order to guarantee the success and excellence in all the missions we are endowed with. Our taste is clearly respectful of the past, with a deep attention to local context and culture, however our expression remains contemporary. We look for balance, harmony and integration. The partnership between Laurent BOURGOIS and Caroline SARKOZY has achieved dynamic process, and a capacity to embrace large projects and covering all spectrums required from basic design to furniture design.

Frédéric Jousset

Entrepreneur, Philanthropist

Frédéric Jousset is a French entrepreneur and philanthropist. Graduated from the HEC business school in 1992, where he chaired the alumni association, he co-founded in 2000 the Webhelp group which has become one of the world’s leaders in customer relationship management. A former board member of the Louvre Museum and the Paris’s École des Beaux-Arts, a board member of the Paris’s Museum of Modern Art and a major donor of the London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, Frédéric Jousset now fully dedicates himself to arts and culture. He created in 2019 Art Explora, a recognized public-interest foundation whose mission is to share arts and culture with the greatest number, and ArtNova, the first impact fund which aims at empowering cultural players with the means to grow. Frédéric Jousset is also chairman of the Beaux-Arts & Cie group (Beaux-Arts Magazine).

Nathan Litera & Lyatt Samama

NATHAN LITERA - PRINCIPALS

Nathan Litera is a licensed Architect and Interior Designer. He was educated in Architecture at l’Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Architecture Paris-Belleville and at the Cooper Union University in New York. He started his career as an architect at Kohn Pedersen Fox in New York before joining Atelier Jean Nouvel in Paris . His deep interest in Interior Architecture and Furniture Design led him to join the office of Joseph Dirand Architecture as a Project Manager in 2010. There, he was in charge of several high-end residential, hospitality and fashion stores projects. Lyatt Samama is originally a qualified attorney member of the Paris and New York Bars. She is entrusted with the FF&E’s selection and the office general management. Nathan Litera has already completed a portfolio of projects in the United States, France, England, Belgium and the Middle East. Nathan Litera and Lyatt Samama led projects that varied from the renovation of a European Royal Château to the renovation of the Spring Place Club NY restaurant, offices headquarters in New York or some major residential estates in the US. Nathan Litera is currently involved in high-end hospitality, residential and offices projects in Paris, St Tropez, Miami, Washington, London, New York and Bangkok. Nathan Litera released his first furniture collection inspired by Venice, ALTANA, at the Salon Art Design in New York.The second volume of the Altana collection will be launched in 2025. In January 2024, Nathan Litera received a French Design Award. Nathan Litera and Lyatt Samama are both members of Centre Pompidou Contemporary Art Board.

Sarah Andleman

JUST AN IDEA, COLETTE - CURATOR, PUBLISHER

Sarah Andelman co-founded Colette in Paris in 1997. For over 20 years, the concept store was globally renowned for its creativity at the intersection of style, design, art, and food. After closing it in 2017, Andelman launched JUST AN IDEA, a consulting and curating company focused on brand collaborations and retail experiences. In 2021, she created the publishing company JUST AN IDEA BOOKS.

Sylvie Corréard

LE MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS - GENERAL DIRECTOR

Ms. Corréard’s mission is to pursue the development strategy defined by the administration council and to affirm MAD’s international dimension. Appointed in May 2017 to the Prime Minister’s cabinet as a cultural and communications technical advisor, Sylvie Corréard oversaw projects within the scope of the Ministry of Culture, notably in the fields of cultural heritage and museums. She has previously served in the museum sector as the administrator of the Pompidou Center and the secretary general of the City of Paris’s Museum of Modern Art. In the film sector, she has held positions such as director of the Cannes Film Festival’s Cinéfondation, managing director of DIRE (an association of independent distributors), and project manager for the Director of the École Nationale Supérieure des Métiers de l’Image et du Son (Fémis).

Pierre Yovanovitch

PIERRE YOVANOVITCH – ARCHITECT, INTERIOR DESIGNER

Pierre Yovanovitch founded the Paris-based design atelier in 2001 after a career as a menswear designer for Pierre Cardin led him to follow his creative passions into interior architecture and design. Yovanovitch incorporates his signature haute couture aesthetic, in which he blends high art, architectural elements, and vintage furniture, to create a refined yet unpretentious setting. He is equally known for his ability to reimagine historic spaces to fit a contemporary lifestyle whilst maintaining the architectural integrity of the building. Central to his interiors work is Yovanovitch’s passion for contemporary art. An avid collector himself, Yovanovitch incorporates contemporary works along with commissioning established and emerging artists to create on-site works. Pierre Yovanovitch projects span globally from residential, hospitality and commercial undertakings including a Central Park penthouse, to a five-star hotel in Paris, to a 17th century chateau in Provence. With galleries in both Paris and New York City, Pierre leads a team of over 120 employees. In May of 2021, Yovanovitch launched his own furniture brand, Pierre Yovanovitch Mobilier. The new brand runs in tandem with his interior architecture practice combining the designer’s iconic made-to-measure approach with superior craftsmanship, materiality and sustainable sourcing efforts to create unique luxury furniture and lighting

Diana Picasso

MENÉ – CO-FOUNDER, CURATOR

Diana Widmaier Picasso, granddaughter of Pablo Picasso and Marie-Thérèse Walter, is an art historian and curator specialized in modern and contemporary art. After a master degree in business law and a master degree in Art History at the Sorbonne, she worked as an expert of old master drawings at Sotheby’s, but she decided to focus her research on the study of her grandfather’s work. She is the author of the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Pablo Picasso's sculptures. She has written many essays about her grandfather and has curated major exhibitions such as “Picasso and Marie-Therese : L'amour Fou" with John Richardson (Gagosian Gallery 2011), "Picassomania" (Paris, Grand Palais, 2015), Picasso and Maya: Father and Daughter” (Gagosian Gallery, Paris, 2017), "Picasso: La Scultura” (Galleria Borghese, Rome, 2018-2019) and “Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Daughter of Pablo” (Paris, Musée national Picasso, 2022). She is the author of several publications about erotic art including “Picasso: art can only be erotic” and she curated the large show “Desire” (Deitch Gallery, Miami Basel 2016). Her book “Picasso Sorcier”, co-written with the anthropologist Philippe Charlier, was published in April 2022. Diana is also the co-founder with Roy Sebag and Chief Artistic Officer of a new disruptive 24 karat jewellery company called MENÉ launched in October 2017. The company is public since 2018.

Yana Peel

CHANEL - GLOBAL HEAD OF ARTS & CULTURE

Yana Peel is the Global Head of Arts & Culture at CHANEL, serving on the Executive Team since she joined the House in 2020. She is also a board member of Fondation CHANEL, which supports the advancement of women and girls worldwide. Formerly, Peel was CEO of The Serpentine Galleries in London and co-founded Outset Contemporary Art Fund to drive new philanthropic initiatives across the arts. She is a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, a Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Her board commitments include Sadler's Wells Theatre and international councils for TATE, the Metropolitan Museum, and American Ballet Theatre. Peel studied at McGill University and completed her postgraduate degree in Economics at LSE before starting her career at Goldman Sachs.