We know and appreciate Studio Boum for its more than memorable fashion moments, for clients that have included Alaïa, Hermès and JW Anderson among others. From pop-up retail spaces to runway shows and other brand experiences, the team, led by founders Andy Moller, Mary-Jane Forster and Olivia Herrtagem, are led by an innate understanding of spatial design and an appreciation for art.
Now, Boum presents Roum, the latest chapter in the studio’s eleven-year history. ‘From immersive spaces to fine objects’, reads an introduction to what is going to become a new permanent branch of the practice, designed by Moller and dedicated to elevating the act of gathering.
From Boum to Roum: elevated and refined objects
(Image credit: Photography: Neil Godwin. Art Direction: Cindy Partohnnaud)
While Studio Boum’s practice spans architectural design, set design and furniture, the team has occasionally worked on smaller objects as part of their work. ‘Over time, these explorations became more regular and felt like the foundation of something more enduring,’ explains Moller. ‘Our work at Boum has always been about shaping how people feel when they come together. The experience does not always begin with the room as a whole, it can begin with the smallest points of contact.’
The debut collection is crafted in England and includes silver-plated candleholders and vases whose sinuous shapes are both reductive and sculptural.
‘Roum lets us continue to push design at [a small] scale,’ continues Moller. ‘It is the same approach, brought even closer to the hand. The aim is to create objects that support real-life gatherings with care and consideration.’
Studio Roum
Footed Vase – Low
The collection is inspired and takes its name from Mayfair House, the studio’s London HQ, set within a 1950s Brutalist building that stands out among neighbouring Victorian, Edwardian and Georgian architecture.
‘That dialogue between modernity and history is something we are naturally drawn to,’ comments Moller. ‘We wanted to work with English silverware as a time-honoured craft, but explore forms that feel quiet and modern in spirit. The collection was designed as a family of objects that work together across different scales of gathering, from a single stem vase to a pedestal centrepiece. Silver plate gives the pieces a soft depth, offering a different quality to chrome or polished stainless steel.’
As the Great Portland Collection launches this month, the team are already at work on the next instalment of the Roum experience: titled Bigli, it will be a collection to celebrate ‘Milanese elegance and precision’. The studio opened an outpost in the city this year, and, Moller explains, this collection is an opportunity to explore ‘Italian craftsmanship in dialogue with twentieth century design. We are working with artisans whose approach to glass and metal has been shaped over generations, and we are looking to the lineage of Italian lighting and object design.’
He points out that Italian design has been an enduring influence on his work as a creative: ‘A Tizio lamp [by Richard Sapper for Artemide] was a gift from my father when I was young, there are Atollo lamps [by Vico Magistretti for Oluce] in the studio, and Il Conico [kettle by Aldo Rossi for Alessi] sits in the kitchen. These Italian forms have stayed with me throughout my life. The intention is to create lighting that feels sculptural, warm and familiar, and continues to support the act of bringing people together.’
(Image credit: Courtesy Studio Boum)
