La Réserve Magazine Rethinking Luxury

Alexis Tricoire grew up in the region of Paris, near the Saint-Cucufa woods where he loved to climb trees and feel the vibes of the forest that enthralled him with its grandeur while enveloping him in a sense of well-being. This fascination grew still further when he reached the age of ten and moved with his parents for a two-year period in Brazil, where he discovered the warm, exuberant and generous atmosphere of the tropical jungle. Upon turning 20, he set off on a backpacking trip to reconnect with his childhood that involved venturing out to meet the Amerindian tribes of the Amazon, at the heart of primeval forests, where he experienced the immense joy of feeling he belonged to nature and of living in perfect harmony with it.
This passion was kept on the back burner for a while during his studies at the School of Decorative Arts in Paris and the Art Institute of Chicago, before starting his career as an object and furniture designer.

But the flame was ignited again during a garden festival held in Chaumont-sur-Loire, when Patrick Blanc – inventor of the vertical garden, a.k.a. green wall – invited him to design the scenography for his “Folies végétales” exhibition at the Fondation EDF Electra in Paris. The idea was to highlight nature in a spectacular and emotional way. The incredible success of this event led to a number of scenography and educational projects relating to plant life. Ever since, through combining his talent as a designer and his ‘natural’ commitment, Alexis Tricoire has created various moments of pure magic that also provide ample food for thought. “I love appealing to people and raising awareness through beauty”, he says, “because it is by stirring emotions that you can make people want to realize what is happening, to protect nature and to spread positive messages as bees do with pollen.”

By Michèle Wouters

The Hybridation scenography, created for the Natural History Museum in Paris during Design Week, featured a surrealistic creation in the large greenhouses of the Jardin des Plantes, transcending the hybrid beauty of scenery and questioning visitors on the impact our societies are having on primeval forests.

The Folies Végétales exhibition at the Fondation EDF Electra in Paris, presented
the first plant-life ceiling in modern history.
The thousand plants that developed above our heads did not release a single drop of water and instilled a stunning atmosphere.

Two-headed dragon.
This monumental installation, commissioned by the Cité de la Mode et du Design in Paris, embodies a strange half-aquatic, half-plant-life creature that appears to have suddenly appeared in the entrance
hall and atrium, reflecting the sinuous, snaking curves of the building façade itself.

Global Warming. COP21 hut inside this multi-sensory construction installed in the Grand Palais for the famous climate conference in Paris and covered with thousands of plants, visitors were able to view a video providing information on climate change and featuring NASA images.

Tentacular extensions.
This plant-life sculpture created for the Centre d’Art et de la Maréchalerie in Versailles is a metaphor of how urbanism develops in natural territories
via tentacular paths such as rivers and roads. It also expresses the irrational side of our society that leaves scant space for plant life.

Harmony wigwam.
This plant-life sculpture was created for the Garden Show in the Jardin des Tuileries, thanks to the patronage of the Jardins de Gally. An intimate and social place, the wigwam symbolizes a society in harmony with nature, where one has a sense of being sheltered by a green setting.

© Y. Monel - See by Kloe - M.Dutriaux
Studio Alexis Tricoire - D.R.