Jeu de pleins et de vides

On 3 September, the LVMH Prize announced its 2025 winners. And for the first time, the jury, composed of the biggest names in luxury, took their seats at tables designed by Tom Ducarouge.

The young designer, who trained in Paris and London and graduated in 2020 from the prestigious Central Saint Martins in industrial design, was entrusted with creating the new table for the LVMH Prize judges. It was a major project that the designer and his team came to via Bureau Betak. ‘We had already collaborated with Bureau Betak in the past. Among our most important joint projects was the creation of 650 stools for a Gucci fashion show. When LVMH approached them to design the new table that would host the jury for their Prize, Bureau Betak asked us to come up with an object that would fit in with the scenography they had imagined. We submitted seven different designs, two of which caught their attention. Last July, the group selected the design for these three tables, which took pride of place in the jury room on 3 September’, recalls Tom Ducarouge.

A whole story unfolded before we arrived at the finished product, starting with the design of these three tables conceived as a set. For Tom Ducarouge, any product design project must above all tell a story. This is a core value in the studio’s DNA, which he combines with the specifications. ‘We wanted to create an element of surprise. When the three tables are assembled together, a design appears between their tops, in a play of solids and voids: that of the LVMH Prize star.’

The story of a design, but also of a material. After extensive research and numerous proposals, the designers and sponsors finally settled on a stainless steel version. ‘Our deadlines were relatively short, and the choice of material added an extra challenge for the Héphaïstos workshops in Caen, whom we entrusted with the production of the tables. We wanted to work with 6mm stainless steel, instead of the thinner sheets often used in design. This decision led to a long search for sheets suitable for the project, as this material is usually used in industry. But the workshop was able to find high-quality pieces and brought all its expertise to bear in the finishing touches’, comments Tom Ducarouge.

Indeed, by choosing to use an industrial material, the question of finishes proved crucial in achieving the desired result. Particular attention was therefore paid to the welding connecting the table legs to their tops, which had to be virtually invisible. A considerable amount of time was also spent sanding, requiring dozens of hours of work to achieve the result that was unveiled on 3 September. This colossal task was complemented by a thermo-lacquered finish, which serves both to smooth the edges and to capture the light without glare, while limiting the marks left by the hands of its users. ‘Stainless steel is a very lively material, and in this case we chose a more raw version, which will be able to take on character and last over time, because the traces of wear and tear from use are already part of its identity’, adds the designer.

The trio of tables is sure to see many LVMH Prize winners pass before it in the years to come. •

Year: 2025
Address: Paris, France
Space design: Tom Ducarouge in collaboration
with Bureau Betak
Materials: stainless steel, industrial sheet
metal and thermally lacquered finish
Surface: N/A

photos : LVMH Prize tables, Tom Ducarouge, 2025 © Martin Cayssilié