Pierre Tassin

For Pierre Tassin, design begins with the material itself. Working between France and Vietnam, the multidisciplinary designer collaborates with traditional artisans to create objects and spaces where craftsmanship, culture and contemporary design meet, revealing the quiet beauty of heritage reimagined for the present.

For Pierre Tassin, every material carries a story waiting to be revealed.

Clay remembers the hands that shaped it. Wood bears the marks of time. Paper preserves the delicate rhythm of fibres patiently assembled by hand. Rather than imposing form upon these materials, Tassin begins by understanding their character, believing that the most meaningful design emerges through dialogue rather than control.

Raised on the island of La Réunion and educated in industrial and luxury design in France, Pierre Tassin has developed a multidisciplinary practice that moves effortlessly between product design, interior architecture, scenography and artistic installation. His early collaborations with renowned maisons including Hermès, Chanel, Chaumet and Puiforcat refined his appreciation for craftsmanship, precision and the enduring value of objects made with care. Yet beyond technical excellence, his work has always sought something deeper: the emotional connection between people, materials and place.

That search eventually led him to Vietnam.

Within the country’s craft villages, Tassin discovered not simply remarkable techniques but entire communities where knowledge continues to be passed from one generation to the next. Watching bamboo bent by experienced hands, clay transformed on a potter’s wheel and paper shaped from natural fibres, he recognised that craftsmanship is not simply about making objects. It is a living cultural language, carrying memory, identity and a profound understanding of the natural world.

Rather than preserving these traditions as relics of the past, Tassin works alongside Vietnamese artisans to explore how they can evolve within contemporary design. His collaborations are built on exchange, where the designer learns from the artisan as much as the artisan contributes to the design. Each project becomes a shared exploration of what tradition can become when viewed through a contemporary lens.

This philosophy is beautifully expressed in Hợp Lưu, developed with ceramic artisan Lê Văn Nhật in Hội An. Composed of interconnected vessels through which water quietly flows, the installation draws inspiration from the communal spirit of Vietnamese villages, where individual lives remain connected through shared relationships and mutual support. The work becomes both sculpture and metaphor, revealing how design can communicate ideas that extend far beyond function.

In Lá Nắng, created with artisan Trương Tấn Thọ, handcrafted coconut paper becomes the medium through which light and architecture converse. Inspired by the geometric windows of Hội An’s historic houses, the sculptural wall light filters illumination with remarkable softness, transforming a humble natural material into an object of quiet elegance. Here, light itself becomes a material, shaping atmosphere as much as space.

Across his practice, Tassin moves comfortably between intimate objects and large architectural interventions. Furniture, lighting, interiors and spatial installations all become opportunities to rethink the relationship between material, craftsmanship and contemporary living. Traditional techniques are never concealed. Instead, they remain visible within each piece, allowing the hand of the maker to become part of the final expression.

His work has been presented internationally through collaborations with leading luxury houses and exhibitions including Maison & Objet and Révélations in Paris. More recently, his projects in Vietnam have continued to position traditional craftsmanship within an international design dialogue. Despite this global recognition, his practice remains grounded in the belief that the future of design begins with understanding where materials come from, who shapes them and the cultural knowledge they embody.

For Pierre Tassin, design is ultimately an act of connection. It brings together artisan and designer, tradition and innovation, material and imagination. In every object he creates, craftsmanship is not simply preserved. It is given the opportunity to grow, evolve and find new meaning.

In Pierre Tassin’s hands, design becomes more than form or function. It becomes a conversation across cultures, where every material remembers its past while quietly shaping the future.