The fire illuminates in 1764 – part of the command of King Louis XV that sets up the Baccarat Glass Works Factory in France – was constantly burned for centuries.
And last year the French house, which made pieces such as the Zénith Chandelier Black by Philippe Starck and the Baccarat X Virgil Abloh Crystal Clear Collection, marked its 260th anniversary by improving an ultramodern oven in the factory, making it possible to produce the energy-efficiency.
But that was just one of the changes in the French heritage brand. In 2020, management was taken over Through various debt management funds led by Tor Investment Management, after the owner, Fortune Fountain Capital, has lost control of her company to creditors. (Baccarat Hotels & Resorts is managed by SH Hotels & Resorts, a Starwood Capital branch via a license.)
Since then, Baccarat, who has not announced its annual income, has shifted operational focus from products to a broader embrace of the art of hospitality, which has spent 60 million euros ($ 65 million) on the effort in the last three years. “Experiences are the core of Baccarat’s DNA,” said Laurence Nicolas, who became the chief executive of the house in February. “What we have achieved is an incredible transformation in a lifestyle brand.”
That transformation that started under the predecessor of Mrs. Nicolas, Maggie Henriquez-Begon with the September opening of a gastronomic restaurant, Ducasse Baccarat, under the supervision of the Michelin-Starred chef Alain Ducasse and a cocktail bar called Midi-Minuit. A museum space at the top of the Baccarat flagship at the place of états-unis in the 16th district was renovated for the new locations. (There are also plans for Jardin, a garden restaurant and bar, to open this summer.)
“We have a beautiful space in this house of great tradition,” said Mr Ducasse, who also collects antique Baccarat Crystal, during an interview in Paris. “We are here to make something new, designed for today’s customers, that is chic but informal.”
He said the restaurant was stylized to seduce customers. “Customers come here for the pleasure of tasting, not because they are hungry,” he said. “They are curious, fickle, too much informed, rushed and stressed. We want to surprise them and ensure that they want to come back.”
The three regular menus reflect Mr Ducasse’s modern view of traditional French cuisine: “Fewer animal proteins, more vegetables, smaller portions and higher quality.”
The eating experience is just as formed by the environment as by eating. In the restaurant, the creations of Baccarat are represented in the Stamware on the tables and the hanging drop light lighting fixtures, a deconstructed view of the classic chandelier of the house. And the room is covered with floor-to-ceiling wooden planks with small human figures carved from natural oak, the work of Jean-Guillaume Mathiaut, a French sculptor and architect.
“We have saved Baccarat’s heritage, but have added our own touch of modernity,” said Mr Ducasse, who chose Mr Mathiaut for the institution.
With the closure of the museum, Harry Nuriev, an architect and furniture designer born in Russia, was invited to think again how some of his creations in the store would be shown. His solution: industrial refrigerators.
“The refrigerators in the lobby are a nod to the restaurant upstairs,” Mr Nuriev said during an interview in Paris. “But they are also a nice twist to keep archive pieces. Their oversized glass doors are a screen that allows visitors to admire the precious crystal pieces.”
He has also transformed the access gallery of the flagship, which leads to the lobby, by adding words such as passion and temptation and drawings, including a sketch of some glass blazers, lined walls on the limestone. “The stone is cut as modern graffiti that tells the story of Baccarat,” he said, adding: “Graffiti is a form of self -expression since cave paintings.”
In collaboration with Baccarat’s Crystal Artisans, Mr. Nuriev designed a chandelier who reflected what he called transformism and challenged viewers to see things in new ways. The piece, which is revealed in the fall, combines traditional Baccarat -crystal with found objects and daily items such as small important chains and ordinary beads.
“In the future, as I see it, Crystal will become rare and the factory will prevent much less common,” said Mr. Nuriev. “This means that all luxury items must be from new channels, objects will be reused and found that materials will replace components made in the factory.”
He said that working with the craftsmen of Baccarat was a special experience: “The way they move in silence, in a perfect choreography, was almost cosmic.”
In the boutique of the flagship, new creations for sale include the new antiquarian collection from the Dutch designer Marcel Wanders, inspired by Baccarat’s exhibitions on earlier World’s Fairs. It has pieces such as a standing vase on humans; a portable lamp in clochette style with a built-in wireless lighting system; And a round table with a marble top and an illuminated Crystal Central -bone equipped with a battery and a USB port.
Some design changes are also rolled out to the 70 Baccarat -Boetieks worldwide in a renovation plan led by the French architects and interior designers Bruno Moinard and Claire Bétaille. The new boutique concept reflects the theme of the fire and contains black and red tones, charred cedar with textured surfaces, steel ribbons and melted crystal. Ten renovations are planned for this year.
“We used daring, contrasting materials and precise lighting to evoke the essence of fire and sintels,” said Mr. Moinard in an interview in Paris. “These materials, shapes and textures reflect the spirit of the Baccarat production and create a modern visual language in the boutiques.”
Regarding the production site, which employs 600 employees, it is in the city of Baccarat, along the Meurthe River in the Lorraine region in East Frankrijk. The installation of oven F, as the new equipment is called, required reconstruction of a building for a year. Baccarat said it was equipped to convert 18 tons of melted material per day.
“We have not only upgraded our production tools, but also the safety of our facility, and this year we improve our water treatment systems and we revise our water use,” said Mrs. Nicolas. “We also focus on our labor force, including some of the most talented artisans in France, including 12 Meilleurs Ouvriers de France.” She referred to a national prize that is awarded to craftsmen, who are chosen every four years through a competition.
Mrs. Nicolas said that the new lifestyle orientation of Baccarat would be sealed with a new slogan. “For a long time our slogan was ‘everything is better at Baccarat’, which concentrated on our products,” said Mrs. Nicolas. “We have made a subtle change.”
‘To live Is better with Baccarat, “she said.” And we want to share our know -how with those who want to enjoy, take time together and enjoy life. ‘
