Her relationship with Chanel began in Paris
when she received a commission to redecorate
the Grands Appartements of the 18th-century
Hôtel de Crillon. She knew she wanted to collaborate
with Lagerfeld, legendary then-head of Chanel
and at the peak of his career. So, she wrote him a
note in longhand and gave it to a receptionist to
deliver to him. "It was like throwing a bottle into the
sea," she laughs. Lagerfeld was so charmed
by this old-fashioned gesture of communication
that he agreed to meet with her. The duo eventually
redesigned the Grands Appartements in 2017 and,
in 2018, went on to collaborate on a collection of
furniture for the international collectible design and
dealers Carpenters Workshop Gallery. Lagerfeld
died two years later.
As for d'Amman, she continues to design
homes for many eminent private clients, as well
as more public commissions such as Le Jules
Verne, the two—Michelin-starred restaurant on the
second floor of the Eiffel Tower. "My practice
of architecture and design," she says, "is driven by
the absolute conviction that beauty can change
the world."
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP
béton littéraire, a bookshelf
and a pair of columns by
d'Amman, in collaboration
with the Laboratorio
Morseletto; studies
in pleating; a detail of Le
Mobile des Métiers.