Design Miami.Paris 2025 returned to the ornate L’Hôtel de Maisons for its third edition in the French capital.
More than 25 galleries are participating in the fair, which trades the traditional booth model for luxurious hotel room spaces and larger-scale outdoor displays in the tranquil grounds of the 17th-century mansion that was once home to late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld. Designed by the legendary architect François Mansart, the venue embodies the refined sophistication of early French classicism with high ceilings, parquet de Versailles flooring, and decorative wood paneling.
It all makes for an idyllic venue to host a design fair. There are moments where design objects on view echo the ornamentation of the rooms, and others where they deliberately contrast it. On the fair’s VIP morning, Tuesday, October 21st, guests flooded into the venue to peruse a wide range of pieces, from decorative arts of the early-to-mid 20th century to cutting-edge contemporary forms.
The enthusiasm from collectors in the opening hours reflected the current energy in the design market at large, which has seen a renewed surge in collector interest in recent years. Dealers reported a strong international collector presence and a solid start to sales in the fair’s opening hours. Here, Artsy selects the five pieces from the fair that made our wish list.
Swathed in natural light from the tall windows of the mansion’s upstairs salon, Frida Fjellman’s blown glass and monumental ceramic works combine animal forms, organic shapes, and geometric abstraction.
For this solo presentation with New York and Los Angeles gallery Hostler Burrows, the Swedish artist created these works especially for the venue’s refined interiors, drawing inspiration from the Palace of Versailles, Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette, and early 18th-century Rococo aesthetics.
In the center of the display is a striking chandelier, its geometric, jewel-like glass forms attached to gold-toned chains that pour down from the ceiling. Flanking it below are two sculptures of boars on light blue pedestals that appear alert, as if they’re ready to pounce at any moment.
The whole presentation is a standout, but I became particularly enamored with Viper with Treasure (2025), a smaller piece in the booth’s corner portraying a coiled ceramic snake guarding a large dark green glass orb. The green tones feel both earthly and otherworldly, and the craftsmanship—the fluidity of the snake’s curve, the way light moves over it—gives it a sense of elegance and vitality. It’s beautiful, tactile, and alive with light.