Paris-born designer Jose Levy ties up with Hidesign on a new project 

The 50-year-old designer takes inspiration from elephant trunks, jasmine flowers and the Indian woman for the collection named The Pondicherry Paris Collection 
Jose Levy
Jose Levy

Paris-born José Lévy’s expertise goes beyond just designing. It extends to him being an outstanding colourist for global brands like Nina Ricci, Holland & Holland and Ungaro. The 50-year-old will now be seen tying up with label Hidesign on a collection named The Pondicherry Paris Collection. Having successfully collaborated with greatslike Cristalleries Saint Louis (the oldest manufacturer of glass making in Europe), Roche Bobois (a top-end furniture label from France, Astier de Villatte (Paris’s most prestigious ceramic and black terracotta label) and Déshoulieres (pioneers in porcelain in France), we are suitably impressed when we find that to kickstart this project, José created a brand new leather which took him three months to just get the texture right.  

“The leather is called Milano, it’s extremely soft and smooth, but very durable,” explains José. “The challenge was to make products that had soft supple leather, felt luxurious and sleek. The entire collection is very unlike Hidesign in terms of the kind of product it is, but still very much in keeping with the brand’s philosophy of simple and clean design.” Jose wanted to create some products that were very easy to live with, luxurious and cool, very simple yet stylish. "I have been to Pondicherry and I really love to walk in the streets and just look around, listen and take in the smells," says Jose adding that  the Indian culture has been a major influence for this collection.

The conceptor-cum- designer’s influence transcends from fashion to stage, photography, store concepts and furniture design. Hence it is no surprise that inspiration for  José goes beyond the city of Puducherry. Looking out airplane windows inspired his Cloud range, that comprises of pieces like the Sac a dos which is a rucksack, albeit a sophisticated one. They also have a range of pouches to organise your travel needs, like the elegant Valise that jumps straight out of the Orient Express to 21st century coolness. The main USP of the collection, he says, is the motifs that he has incorporated.

“The elephant trunk are parts of the Indian imagery, something I personally love now. The garland of Jasmine flowers in the Elaine bag and Juliette wallets make me think of the beautiful women of India,” says Jose who  also works on scenography projects, like the recent Villa Kujoyama in Kyoto, and Petit Palais collaborations in Paris.     


When José accepted this project with Hidesign earlier this year, he decided to start from scratch. 
Every design, print and choice of picture will be new. The products in the collection are designed for an international traveller, with the little and necessary things that a traveller might require to make his journey comfortable, yet stylish. We ask him about his connection with Pondicherry, and he says that the diversity of the cultures have influenced his style alot. “Both cities connects to my lifestyle of constant travel,” concludes José who sees himself as a nomad, a tribe he thinks is the most exclusive and sophisticated tribe in the world.

Available online 
and at the store. 
From `1,495 to `12,795.
 

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