Hervé Van der Straeten and Alexandre Biaggi: A Pair of Aesthetes

Hervé designs furniture, lighting fixtures and mirrors that are resolutely contemporary yet draw on references to historic styles. Alexandre is one of the most famous antique dealers in Paris, focusing on 20th-century decorative arts. So when he asked Hervé to design some pieces that would be sold exclusively in his gallery, the outcome was bound to be interesting, sophisticated and timeless – in a nutshell, future classics. How did your working relationship start? HvdS: We’ve been friends for a long time. This is a way of celebrating a 20-year relationship. AB: In 2000, I asked Hervé to design some designs for me. It was the first time I’d ever done that. I saw his creations through my antique dealer’s eye and found that he had a sense of materials reminiscent of luxury in the 1930s-1940s and a modern way of talking about design. I…