And the consumer in every reason to be seduced by beauty

"Beautiful ugly price." The formula is not new. Launched in 1968 with value of manifest Maïmé Arnodin and Denise Fayolle, successfully driving it founding the mafia Agency, the slogan off Prisu coverage, the first catalogue stores Prisunic which then targeted a young clientele and non-conformist. Between 1968 and 1976, sixteen of these catalogues were published to support the dissemination of pieces designed by a design sizes, such as Olivier Mourgue, Gae Aulenti, Marc Held, Marc Berthier, Joe Colombo or even Pierre Guariche. The operation was sassy, but the time was to experimentation and the challenge with rejection of the Henri II buffet and the Shepherdess Louis XV. In London, Terence Conran was both Habitat he had created four years earlier.

Between discount and luxury

Since then, consumer products marketing lives to the rhythm of the "trends" identified by the offices of styles, with a growing polarization between, at the bottom of the pyramid, the reign of product discounts and, at the Summit, luxury products. The design is equated to the world of high-end and is also 10.5 of the market of furniture (8.8 billion euros in 2005 according to data from the Federation of French Industries of furniture or an average budget of 1 160 euros for one third of French households who bought at least a piece of furniture in the year). A survey conducted in 2003 by the chain Mr furniture showed that one-third of customers between 35 and 49 years of age considered too high the price of the furniture design, knowing that "enter range" distributors represent more than half of the French market of furniture. There would therefore be excluded design Not so sure, because, in addition to Ikea has shown the example, more and more large signs dare play this card. Monoprix gained the assistance of sir Conran and 3 Swiss made use of Philippe Starck. Recently, giant Casino applies the recipe for its "General cargo" rays, hear everything that is not food. The chain has launched this summer mini a first collection "Creators on the beach" composed of a wide range umbrella, cabas and beach towel and signed by André, Marrie Perron and Stephane Manel, sold between 15 and 25 euros. Building on the scarcity, the distributor in did sale 3 500 copies in its hundred stores, even reserving Colette exclusive for Paris! Operation with well, giant Casino plans to renew for its rays bed linen, arts of the table, section of households and stationery, always on a seasonal and timely basis.

The VPC players have long capitalised on the style, and creators to booster their pages mode. The Camif, third French company of distance selling with 190 000 references for home and leisure equipment, is known the impact of the design and creation. The cooperative of the employees of the public service, which regularly uses talent devoted as Matali Crasset, since 1997 initiated a competition open to students of schools of design and applied arts. Since then, like the Frédéric Ruyant, Perrine Vigneron, Gaëlle Seznec or Guillaume Chaussé, this competition revealed and developed foot Stirrup creators 20. They are distinguished and rewarded each year by a jury presided over by a "star": Andrée Putman, Christian Biecher, Rena Dumas, Christophe Pillet and Agatha Ruiz of the Prada. India Mahdavi has a task this year.

Prices low and renamed: in nine years, the competition of the Camif became a required passage for young creative and allows it to accept 2 of the price of each item sold. Each is therefore his account: the Distributor optimizes sales and tire on its costs without sacrificing aesthetics, the designer is, associated with a wider dissemination of its products without risk of squander them. And the consumer in every reason to be seduced by beauty. It would seem that Maïmé and Denise are again listened to.

The ambition to make beautiful and cheap is no utopian and dates back to the 19th century ending with the publication, in 1899, beauty, written by the Swedish Socialist feminist Ellen Key. This text, founder of Scandinavian design, becomes the expression of the thinking of the cultural, economic and social well-being. It will provide the necessary tools to the improvement and beautification of everyday objects. Ambition in the heart of the school project of the Bauhaus in works of the great Finnish architect Alvar Aalto and Le Corbusier in France and Germany. Ambition that, decades later, is found also in the origin of the creation of Ikea, the world leader of cheap furniture. In a more confidential kind, Danish Normann Copenhaguen is currently a tobacco with its useful and practical objects for the home sold at most only studied prices. The role of the Scandinavian design is no longer to establish, but need to be convinced to visit the exhibition "Design on a daily basis" in Paris with the Design Forum Finland in the walls of the Finnish Institute . Is reconstituted the witness of a family, the carpet of bed apartment in the teaspoon. These objects of daily express well the intrinsic values of habitat and Northern lifestyle.

In Italy, the other homeland of the design, the situation is more complex. Since the end of the 1960s, theorists of the style was endlessly fought the edition of mass of furniture and decorative objects designed for the industrial account by creators who benefit from comfortable royalties. This collaboration between designers of Interior Architects and the world of industry is at the origin of the success of prestigious companies like Danese, NavaDesign or Kartell. But the latter currently tend to sell their productions, talking rather now "collections", at the price of molto bello. But some, like Guzzini brought the beautiful in kitchens, maintain the CAP example, its new line of FoodDesign - to which Denis Santachiara has designed a parmesan knife. Or Con & Con, that publishes many clever, fun and useful for the kitchen, the table or the Office objects.

More ambitious and presented at Milan Design Week 2005, the "Design alla coop" project to test the public twenty prototypes of utilitarian objects by so many young emerging designers or confirmed: paper toilet for child from Fabio Bortolani, wall of Antonio Cos hooks, broom of Emanuele Gallina, Paolo Ulian ramasse-poussière gloves, the initiator of the idea, or even the maniques rubber Gabriele Pezzini. Exposed a few days in the rays of several supermarkets in cities such as Rome, Catania and Bologna, ten of these prototypes preferred by consumers have been put into production by the Italian leader sign and will be sold in 2007 in all its stores in the peninsula. Evidence is again administered quality of Italian design and its ability to find relays in the industrial and retail. Would be thus conducted prophecy started by the great historian of Italian architecture Giulio Carlo Argan, who "design become the popular art of the new Millennium".

"Design on a daily basis", Finnish Institute, 60, street schools, 75005 Paris. Tuesday to Saturday from 12 am to 6 pm, night Tuesday until 8 p.m. free admission.