What inspires Christopher Guy Harrison? With a timeless sense of style and a classically beautiful approach to design, the creator isn’t about chasing the next big trend. Yet season after season, he wows clients with impeccable new pieces and thoughtful designs.
Global Trends Ambassador Patti Carpenter met with the internationally-acclaimed British furniture designer at this spring 2019 season’s High Point Market. At the North Carolina trade event, he presented his sophisticated new art-deco inspired pieces. Through the duo’s candid conversation, we learned all about what motivates Guy’s elegant and luxurious style.
“I think a lot of times, you look at a piece and think of how you can improve it,” Guy shared. “When I look at some pieces, actually it’s standing the test of time. Then I don’t have to do anything more. I tend to tweak it a little bit here, and tweak it a little bit there. Now it’s about how to create timeless pieces.”
Now an accomplished and well-respected creator in the home furnishings space, Guy actually comes from a strong fashion background. The designer said worked his way up in this space after showing natural taste and a keen eye for luxury.
“Having grown up and spent time in the south of France, looking at the glamour rather than being part of it… helped form my ideas of what I wanted to do with the furniture,” he explained. “I have no formal training in design at all.”
Early designers that have inspired Guy’s work include the famed legends who shaped our modern ideas of classic luxury, like Coco Chanel. Of these artists’ work, Guy appreciates the sense of continuity and timelessness that can be found throughout the eras.
“I think always the French, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann from the 1920s and 1930s. If you looked at his work, it wasn’t connected with a culture, so it was culture-less, but beautiful, exceptional work,” he shared. “And I always enjoyed Chanel, Coco Chanel. And it’s interesting how [Karl Lagerfeld] took the brand to the next step. He saw the elements that the Chanel brand had, and then [thought], how was he going to evolve it? Now today, someone is going to have to take over for Karl Lagerfeld.”
Chanel is a brand filled with signatures and enduring traits, and Guy believes all brands should similarly have characteristics that make them unique.
“I think a brand needs to have signatures in products as well,” Guy shared.
To tour the CG space and hear more from Christopher Guy and Patti Carpenter’s captivating conversation, be sure to check out House Tipster Industry’s exclusive live stream video interview from Spring 2019 High Point Market below.
