Paris Déco Off: Why I Make an Annual Pilgrimage to the World's Best Textile Event
Every January, I make a pilgrimage to Paris to preview the home textile industry's latest collections. This might not be everyone's passion, but for me and my studio, it's a bit of a Super Bowl event. Think of it as Fashion Week — but for interiors textiles.
I never thought I'd evolve my interior design studio to be so textile-heavy. Admittedly, it's an element of design I once treated as a complement to the overall scheme. But over the years, as I've matured my practice, I've come to see textiles as a critical, non-negotiable element of great interior design. I take considerable interest in the alchemy that goes into layering textile and passementerie. How we can take a fabric and create a floating textile wall to separate spaces. How a heavily textured embroidery can become a stunning wallcovering. The versatility is endless — my curiosity leans in, and I get completely lost. In the best way.
That's why Paris Déco Off has become a must on my calendar every year.
What Is Paris Déco Off — And How Did It Begin?
Paris Déco Off was founded in 2010 by a collective of French fabric and wallpaper houses as an open-door, city-wide event to showcase new interior design collections during the Maison & Objet trade fair. It was created to offer a more accessible, creative alternative to traditional trade shows — transforming the showrooms of Saint-Germain-des-Prés and Rue du Mail into a living, breathing runway for interiors.
It is, in every sense, the Fashion Week of the home textile world.
Who Presents at Paris Déco Off?
The heavyweights come out to play. We're talking Pierre Frey, Holland & Sherry, Casamance, Jim Thompson, Cowtan & Tout, Manuel Canovas, Larsen, Scalamandré, Lelièvre, Schumacher, Kravet — to name just a few. It's a veritable feast for the senses, and for a textile-driven studio like mine, it's genuinely unmatched.
Why Paris Déco Off Matters for Interior Designers
If you run a textile-forward interior design studio, this is a destination event. For me, it resets my creative compass — gets my head thinking about what's new, what's noteworthy, and what's next.
Some textile houses really go for it: bold direction, unexpected applications, genuine design risk. Others deliver more iterative collections that build thoughtfully on previous successes. And that's not to be dismissed — even those evolutions tell a story about where design is heading.
Why I Go Every Year
After the holidays, Paris Déco Off delivers an instant jolt of creativity. Set against the backdrop of one of the world's most beautiful cities, it's the perfect setting to kick off the year and fire up the creative engine.
What I find most compelling isn't just the what — the new collections — but the how. The execution. The technique. The new applications for textiles and passementerie that we simply don't get exposed to in the US market. It's a rare opportunity to sit with the showrooms and go deep: construction details, durability, customization options, lead times. That dedicated access makes me — and my entire team — meaningfully more knowledgeable about what's out there and what's possible.
It makes us better designers; without a doubt.
Beyond Déco Off: The Paris Flea Market at Saint-Ouen
If you're going to Paris, you don't waste the opportunity to explore. Beyond Déco Off, I always carve out time to wander the Marché aux Puces de Saint-Ouen — the legendary Paris Flea Market — and honestly, my fingers become instantly sticky. There are things I stumble upon and genuinely wonder how I ever lived without them.
Wandering the stalls, speaking with the vendors — it's a real treat. Not only do I get to practice my passable French, but the vendors graciously correct my every other word. (Worth it.) There's just so much to absorb at Saint-Ouen. The eclectic, layered collection of objects is a total playground. I use it as an opportunity to source one-of-a-kind pieces for current projects that need that extra special something. For our Coquina Sands project, the living room chandelier was sourced from one of my trips to Saint-Ouen while in Paris for Deco Off.
Over the years, I've developed relationships with certain vendors I return to, time and time again. And that's where it gets truly meaningful for me — those personal connections that deepen over time. Because in the end, great design is deeply personal. And the best sourcing always is, too.
I honestly believe that textiles have a transformative effect when it comes to design. Which is why its such a critical elements of my designs. I invite you to explore our portfolio and note how textiles add that special touch.
Learn more about how we use textiles in our projects.