“Each project is unique and must be approached as such. You have to understand it, tame it and give it your best,” Nathalie Crinière talks about how intuition is key to her design process and her journey in scenography. 

 

The daughter of an architect, Nathalie Crinière knew she wanted to work in the architecture and design field from an early age. However, it was an encounter with an airborne car, a giant spoon and clocks that seemed to melt down a museum wall that inspired Crinière to pursue a career in scenography. 

 

The unusual objects in question were part of the scenographic design for a show dedicated to legendary surrealist artist Salvador Dali that ran at the French capital’s Centre Pompidou in 1979 — decades before scenography became a popular career path in the design world. 

 

“It was a crazy exhibition and I really loved it,” Nathalie Crinière, who would later go on to work at the famed cultural centre, remembers. “I discovered scenography at the Centre Pompidou.” 

 

“When I began, it was not a fashionable job,” she adds. “Now there are a lot of scenographers and exhibition designers.” 

 

The creative director of Agence NC in Paris, Nathalie Crinière has designed exhibitions for numerous French fashion and luxury brands, as well as for some of the most celebrated cultural spaces both in France and abroad.

 

In 2000, Nathalie Crinière struck out on her own and founded L'agence NC in Paris. Since then, she has designed myriad exhibitions for numerous French fashion and luxury brands, as well as for some of the most celebrated cultural spaces both in France and abroad, including the Musée Carnavalet, the Louvre, Abu Dhabi and the Hong Kong Palace Museum.   

 

Intuition factors heavily into Nathalie Crinière’s projects, which she tends to design around a specific space, rather than working around a theme or concept. 

 

“If you give me two spaces but one theme, the exhibitions [in each space] would be very different,” she explains, referring to the exhibition space as “the soul of the project.” 

 

Nathalie Crinière’s projects are often exhibited in historical structures, which can result in “beautiful surprises,” but also challenges.  

 

“The initial design phases are most often done when the decorative elements related to the building's evolution over time have not yet been removed,” she explains. “Projects are therefore generally carried out without sometimes knowing what lies behind the walls.” 

 

This was the case during the renovation of Musée Carnavalet — the City of Light’s oldest museum — where, after the building was cleaned out, she discovered molded ceilings in the museum’s space dedicated to the French Revolution, and hidden architectural vaults in the medieval room. 

 

“Although the project was already very advanced,” she remembers, “We chose to modify it to reveal these elements, which became very interesting with regard to the museum's history. 

 

Many of Nathalie Crinière’s projects are exhibited in spaces with centuries of history behind them, such as Musée Carnavalet in Paris. Crinière headed up the scenography for the museum’s recent renovation. 

 

Another recent scenographic creation is La Galerie Dior, which opened in 2022 and was part of an extensive renovation of the mythic fashion house’s flagship store that was founded in the mid-1940s.  

 

Part museum, part whimsical dreamland and part cabinet of curiosities, the space chronicles of the creations of the House of Dior and his successors over seven decades — from the iconic “Bar” jacket with its cinched waists to John Galliano’s flamboyant, pharoah-inspired gilded couture gown. Visitors can also take a peek at the famous couturier’s personal office and models’ dressing room. 

 

As with the Musee Carnavalet, Nathalie Crinière encountered “many architectural challenges” of integrating new elements into the design that were not part of the original project. An additional challenge during these instances, she says, involves proving the validity of such modifications to ensure that clients understand the benefits and approve both the project changes and the increased costs. 

 

“Mr. Dior's dressing room was initially reserved for private visits,” she explains. “Over the course of the project…it proved to be an important historical element, and we decided to integrate it into the tour by creating a glazed opening so that all visitors could admire it.” 

 

In addition to her work for Dior, Nathalie Crinière has created exhibitions for other French luxury brands, including Yves Saint Laurent and Cartier. She believes that high fashion brands are increasingly prioritising such exhibitions because they “express the soul of a brand” and also contribute to its story. 

 

At the striking Galerie Dior in Paris, couture gowns are displayed against a sumptuous and slightly surreal digital lightshow.

 

“I don’t look at a brand as a product,” she says. “I look at it as something that can bring emotions to people. My purpose is to deliver a story. For some brands it’s really a long story, especially luxury brands in France like Dior or Yves Saint Laurent.” 

 

For brands with long histories, Nathalie NCrinière, like many fashion designers, looks to the past for inspiration. 

 

“Everything we do comes from the past,” she explains. “All the famous fashion designers…their best work, it stems from something [that came before].” 

However, while she is inspired by the past, her vision is firmly grounded in the present and future. 

 

The scenography for the Iris van Herpen exhibition at the Musée des Arts décoratifs in Paris reflects the designer’s dream-like, futuristic style. 

 

“You can take elements from the past, and you have to transform them,” she explains. “They have their old story, but you bring them a new approach.” 

 

And while many of her creations are exhibited in historical spaces, she is equally appreciative of contemporary structures, including Hong Kong’s own Palace Museum, where she designed the scenography for the “Cartier and Women” exhibition that ran last year. 

 

Nathalie Crinière designed the “Cartier and Women” exhibition, which ran at the Hong Kong Palace Museum last year. She calls the city’s contemporary buildings like the Palace Museum and the M+ “inspiring.”

 

Nathalie Crinière will be returning to Hong Kong for Knowledge of Design Week 2024 from 25 to 27 June guiding us on her extraordinary journey in the world of scenography. 

 

“In Hong Kong, there is the Palace Museum, there is the M+ and these buildings are incredibly inspiring for people like me. The approach is the same, even if the buildings are different,” she says. 

 

Among her upcoming projects is providing the scenography for Notre Dame, as the cathedral prepares for its grand reopening following a devastating fire in 2019. As with several previous projects, she is collaborating with the graphic design firm c-album, whose Paris offices are adjacent to Agence NC. 

 

Nathalie Crinière designed the scenography for the “AlUla, Wonder of Arabia” exhibition at the Palace Museum in Beijing, which takes visitors on a journey through 7,000 years of human history and civilisation.  

 

She believes that when working on an exhibition, building a team is important, and that each member brings valuable expertise and knowledge to a project. 

 

“I am a specialist of spaces,” she says. “But I know that there are people who are specialists in lighting, graphic design or multimedia…and I love working with people who know their job very well.” 

 

A project like Notre Dame carries centuries of French history behind it, but it’s newness and innovation, the act of bringing a structure or brand’s past into the future that most excites Nathalie Crinière. When asked about whether she has a favourite project, she replies that a new project, whether large or small immediately becomes her favourite. 

 

“When I was beginning [my career] I was afraid and I was always telling myself, ‘This one was the best one. I will never do a better project,’ but it’s not true! Every project brings a new story, and anytime you begin a new project it becomes your favourite.” 

 

Nathalie Crinière will return to Hong Kong for Knowledge of Design Week 2024 from 25 to 27 June to present her extraordinary journey in the world of scenography. In addition, she will join Laurent Ungerer, founder & CEO of c-album, in a panel discussion focusing on crafting exceptional experiences in exhibitions and diverse projects. 

 

One of Nathalie Crinière’s current projects is designing the scenography for Notre Dame as the cathedral prepares for its grand reopening later this year following a devastating fire.