4 luxurious chandeliers and lamps to brighten up your home this winter, from the Baccarat x Virgil Abloh Crystal Clear Chandelier to pieces by Louis Vuitton, Hermès and Daum
- Off-White founder Abloh has designed limited edition homeware collections for Ikea, Vitra and now Baccarat, while his maison LV has collaborated with Atelier Oï
- British duo Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby launched the Halo at Milan Design Week, while crystal manufacturer Daum’s Resonance recalls vintage designs from its past
What: Baccarat x Virgil Abloh Crystal Clear Chandelier
How much: HK$3.15 million
So when Baccarat, the French luxury house of all things crystal, collaborates with one of the hottest American artists and designers in the world on a homeware collection, you best believe we’re going to write about it!
This isn’t Abloh’s first foray into interior design. In 2019, he worked with Ikea on the limited edition Markerad collection. The same year, the artist collaborated with Swiss family-owned furniture company Vitra, presenting three limited edition pieces, including a baby blue ceramic block that made the Supreme Brick look like a defective Lego piece.
From ceramic cinder blocks and Ikea clocks to crystal chandeliers, Abloh has bridged the worlds of fashion, high and low, addressing mass consumerism and bespoke luxury.
Created in Paris, the Crystal Clear collection previously appeared at Art Basel Miami and reached Hong Kong in August in Baccarat’s “Masters of Light” exhibition, showing its undeniable global appeal. As well as an artistic interpretation of Baccarat’s near-260-year history, it’s also a testament to Abloh’s influence on modern aesthetics.
The Crystal Clear collection includes the lighting unit, several vases and glasses, and a tumbler (which has already sold out). All are limited edition, with co-branded engraving and numbering.
The chandelier consists of 13 crystal hurricanes that are made to order using the lost wax process. The technique requires the time-consuming creation of one-time-use plaster moulds, which are slowly filled with crystal and then destroyed, to allow for the removal of the object within. After this, the crystal is cut and polished. Each hurricane is made in two parts using this technique, which means a total of 26 single-use moulds and more than 200 hours of craftsmanship.
And the hard work doesn’t stop there. In addition to the hurricanes, 300 crystal links are chained together, adorning the crystal and the metal structure that suspends the chandelier from the ceiling. A crystal platine – in a statement shade of red that is a signature of both Baccarat and Abloh – attaches the chain to each hurricane.