Culture – A Day at Villa Dorane, Cap d’Antibes

In just a few days we head down to the Cote D’Azur for two glorious weeks of holiday. As you know by now, it’s our favourite place on earth, and one that we visit summer after summer. One of the most special spots is jetset Cap d’Antibes, which gained its popularity and status as wealthy people from around Europe discovered its natural beauty, building luxurious homes here.

One of these large-living inhabitants is entrepreneur, art collector, snapshot photographer, and street wear designer Jean Pigozzi (make sure you read this great Vanity Fair feature about him). Jean inherited the house, Villa Dorane, from his father Henri, but it was postmodernist Ettore Sottsass who “pimped it out”. It’s an amazing residence-slash-playground, with playful provocations in the clash of off-kilter geometric furnishings and flamboyant colors, accessorized by Baluchi carpets, kitschy ceramics, and giddy light fixtures. Oh, and his neighbor is Roman Abramovich.

Villa Dorane attracts a steady stream of “friends, venture capitalists and pretty girls” and Pigozzi’s annual Festival de Cannes party is the stuff of legend. “My main idol in life is Howard Hughes,” he says. “I like how he lived all alone with airplanes and girls, but on the other hand I’m a social animal.”

Sounds pretty good to us. Make sure you check out the video below, where Nowness get to spend a day at Villa Dorane.