Villa Noailles

Embracing the avant-garde

The Hyères residence celebrates its 100^th anniversary with an anthology of performances and extols the Putman spirit at the CAB Saint-Paul-de-Vence Foundation.

Par Tanja Stojanov

Charles and Marie-Laure de Noailles were very much ahead of their time. The history of their Villa in Hyères is fascinating because it plunges us into the very heart of the inter-war avant-garde. The Parisian art patrons had a veritable manifesto of modernity built by the architect Robert Mallet-Stevens on this plot of land in the South of France given to them as a wedding present. They welcomed the great artists and authors of the time there, not least Cocteau —Marie-Laure was rumoured to be very much in love with him. The villa will host the Hyères International Design Parade Festival from 23 to 25 June to mark this centenary. Currently and until the autumn, the CAB Foundation is also hosting an extramural exhibition devoted to Andrée Putman and the Modern Movement, with an identical reproduction of the bathroom she designed for the Morgans Hotel. Focused on conceptual art, the Belgian Foundation seeks to emphasise furniture design through a three-year partnership with the Villa Noailles. The venue remains firmly at the forefront of fashion and will host the International Fashion, Photography, and Accessories Festival from 12 October. Major fashion houses and young 21st-century designers will also reinvent Marie-Laure's wardrobe.