EXCLUSIVE: Sophie Lou Jacobsen Channels Pauline de Rothschild’s Glamour for De Gournay

MILAN — With curious collaborations on the rise, de Gournay is the latest home decor brand to join forces and bring to the fore design-forward creatives. French American designer Sophie Lou Jacobsen is gearing up to debut a new collection of glassware in collaboration with the heritage wallpaper brand during the 2024 edition of London Design Festival.

From Sept. 19 to mid-October, her showcase will transform de Gournay’s London showroom into a salon fit for the likes of style icons like Pauline de Rothschild, a 20th-century baroness. The London Design Festival will run from Saturday to Sept. 22.

The New York-based designer is known for her unexpected sculpted objects inspired by the poetry of nature and all its forms. She launched her eponymous studio in 2019 with a keen focus on creating pieces “that have an innate power to surprise, delight and elevate a user’s mood through form and function.”

In 2023, she first launched the Giardino Segreto, or Secret Garden in English, series of floral-motif vases and candle holders, and she will unfurl an expanded collection called Tulipa that pays homage to de Gournay’s iconic Chinoiserie wallpapers. The new pieces include an array of vases, candle sconces, pendant lights and mirrors, all produced with Jacobsen’s signature attention to detail and reverence for handcrafted, artisanal techniques.

“While designing this collection, I imagined what kinds of objects would be found in the environments where these wallpapers live (and have historically lived). These wallpapers likely belong to someone who appreciates craft above all, isn’t afraid of color, layers and maximalism, and has a fondness for botanical motifs, romanticism and whimsy,” she told WWD in an interview.

To curate the perfect setting for this collaboration, Jacobsen enlisted the expertise of New York-based antique dealer Christopher Cawley for his knowledge of 18th and 19th-century furniture and decor. Together, the duo worked with de Gournay’s in-house design team to craft immersive environments that evoke the spirit of de Rothschild’s famous Chinoiserie rooms while nodding to the European salons of the early 20th century, incorporating 18th- and 19th-century furniture and decor from de Gournay’s archive.

With this latest collection and the help of New York-based glassblower Adam Holtzinger of Keep Brooklyn, Jacobsen pushed the boundaries of her glassblowing techniques, translating forms traditionally associated with ceramics and porcelain into the delicate medium of glass.

Jacobsen said that de Gournay approached her after her showcase at the Contributions design fair in Paris in 2023. “We both share a deep appreciation for high craftsmanship, the history of decorative arts and, of course, botanical motifs, so it immediately felt like a perfect match. I was thrilled at the opportunity to showcase my work alongside a company that values this level of craft and technique in resurrecting art through hand-painted and embroidered silk wallpapers, rather than just simply referencing it,” she added.

In June, the British luxury wallpaper-maker launched its latest footwear collaboration with Chinese designer Bing Xu for a collection of bright and playful loafers and slippers adorned with signature motifs that are often seen on the walls of exclusive members’ clubs or stately homes across the U.K.

In 2020 de Gournay partnered with Erdem founder Erdem Moralioglu for a capsule of 11 fashion designs inspired by their wallpaper.

Known for its luxurious well coverings fit for the palaces and mansions of the modern world, de Gournay is a family-run company specializing in the creation of fine, hand-painted wallpapers, hand-embroidered fabrics and hand-painted porcelain. The company was founded by Claud Cecil Gurney with his nephew Dominic Evans-Freke in 1984.