The Breton-born brothers (Ronan born Brittany, France, 1971 and Erwan born Brittany, France, 1975) are the rising stars of European design and the most promising industrial designers to have emerged from France since Philippe Starck in the 1980s. A combination of romanticism and functionality runs throughout their work. Like all truly talented designers, the Bouroullecs have defined a distinctive visual style. The brothers also have an extraordinary ability to reinvent traditional types of furniture or products by recreating them in a way which is peculiarly appropriate to their generation. Everything the Bouroullecs designed in 1998 and 1999 went out under both names, but their 2000 projects were signed individually. ‘We hadn’t fallen out,’ explained Ronan, ‘but some projects reflected Erwan’s ideas more than mine, and vice versa.’ They soon reverted to signing their work jointly. ‘We realised it was pointless to credit one thing to me, and another to Erwan, because we both contribute to everything,’ said Ronan. ‘And it’s impossible to identify who does what. You could say that I’m stronger technically and Erwan aesthetically, but that would be an over-simplification. We don’t always agree, but we do have a similar sensibility.’
Source: The Design Museum, London