Background
Founded in 2023 by SĂ©bastien Gschwind, a trained sculptor, Fassen was born from a deep passion for objects, materials, and form. Originally from Alsace, Gschwind studied at the École des Beaux-Arts de Nancy and the Glasgow School of Art. In 2003, he co-designed a prefabricated steel house near Jean Prouvé’s home in Nancy, which was shortlisted for the Équerre d’Argent First Work Award. He went on to design signage furniture for the ChĂ¢teau de Versailles, and later founded Happyfew, a gallery and design studio in Berlin. Upon returning to France, he joined the Hermès Foundation’s artist residency, where he created Un genre humain, a wandering totemic sculpture. As a teacher at both the HEAR, and the Paris-Val-de-Seine School of Architecture, Gschwind continues to explore how forms, gestures, and craftsmanship shape contemporary creation.
Signature Style
Fassen revisits archetypal forms drawn from art and design history—from antiquity to modern times—to reveal their enduring vitality. Its practice blends curation, re-edition, and creation, guided by a kind of initiatory philosophy of design: to grasp an object is to touch and be touched in return. The brand champions restraint and longevity, producing in small series from a workshop in Seine-et-Marne, France. Each piece is hand-crafted from locally sourced wood, chosen for its character and origin. The result is a language of clarity and essence; objects that carry a quiet strength, imbued with memory, skill, and a sense of the sacred in everyday life.
Showstoppers
As a tribute to this dialogue between past and present, Fassen has reissued the emblematic Paul Poiret’s Avenue d’Antin armchair. By bringing this icon back to life, Fassen celebrates Poiret’s visionary spirit and the avant-garde energy of the early 20th century. The re-edition perfectly captures the brand’s philosophy: reviving foundational forms to reaffirm their symbolic and timeless beauty.
