Thierry Metroz
Design Director • DS Automobiles
DS
Why create a new website dedicated to DS design?
T. M.
We want to bring more of the public behind the scenes, as a chef would invite his clientele to the kitchen. Our first motivation is to share our passion with the visitors of the site, who see only part of our creations in our showrooms and occasionally the salons. We want to explain to the greatest number the genesis of the design of our concept cars and series models.
The DS DESIGN STUDIO.PARIS website is complementary to the Brand’s institutional website. Is its raison d’être. Visitors will be able to discover some of the creations they don’t expect to see from an automotive design centre in the Lab section.
What are the key design points of the DS Automobiles cars?
DS Automobiles is resolutely focused on the future; the Spirit of avant-garde is the brand’s signature.
Our mindset is to break the codes to bring breakthrough design solutions, we will clearly accelerate in this direction. With the electrification revolution, customers are (finally) ready and waiting for real change.
The Brand’s design codes are summed up in a perfect balance between High Tech, and High Craft. These two pillars are at the service of our brand positioning, the French Art of Travel.
High Tech represents the highest level of technological performance. We want to make technology magical by creating emotion, such as animated light signatures, revolutionary human machine interfaces (HMI) or a completely new and spectacular lighting (lighting) interior.
The High Craft represents the refinement and attention to detail, in the materials used such as full-grain leathers and in the confection, with our own stitching points without forgetting a new generation of sustain-noble materials, under development by CMF teams (colour materials and finishes). The High Craft is also expressed through the collaborations created with the great French luxury houses.
We worked with LESAGE (Brodeur), LEMARIE (plumassier) and Lison de Caune (straw marquetry) on the concept cars DS DIVINE, DSX E-TENSE and DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE.
How did you become the Design director of DS Automobiles?
The DS Brand became a reality in early 2014: Carlos TAVARES, who had just taken up his duties in January as head of the PSA Group, formalized the creation of the Brand upon his arrival. This was one of his first decisions. Jean-Pierre PLOUE (Stellantis Europe Design Director), appointed me Director of the DS style centre. The challenge of creating a French premium brand was irresistible for me. It happens once in a lifetime.
With Jean-Pierre, we wanted to test the launch of a premium brand for a long time. In China, DS has launched specific showrooms and in 2013 we set up a specific DS Design entity based of course in France in Paris! We then started working on clean style codes, with showrooms imagined as luxury boutiques. The federative Concept car was Number 9. Later in 2014, DS DIVINE, which was born 100% DS, epitomized the creation of our Brand.
The brand’s design codes are summed up in a perfect balance between High Tech and High Craft.
These two pillars are at the service of our brand positioning, the French Art of Travel.
What are your sources of inspiration?
My greatest source of inspiration is simply the exchange with my team. It brings together 40 to 50 people from all professions: interior designers, exterior designers, CMT (colours, materials and Trims), Prolab (Lighting & Wheels), Virtual Lab (graphic design, 3D imaging, films, etc.), physical modelers (synthetic clay work) and digital, UX Designers (user experience). They are an extremely talented and creative team. My office is at the heart of the studio, and I interact with them every day. We are very close, and everyone is very sharp and creative on all the trends of his field.
What achievements are you most proud of?
I have a soft spot for DS 7. This is the first production designed and born DS. It wore all the style codes present on the concepts Number 9 and DS DIVINE. It was the translation of all the construction initiated since 2013 and 2014 on concepts cars. DS 7 has put in place the fundamentals of our DNA.
What are your passions?
I have an admiration for all those who do something with their hands, I call it the art of the hand. I am a cabinetmaker by training, hence my attachment to wood and the craft of working in these materials. I followed a double course, with a training in interior architecture and a training as a cabinetmaker. In parallel with my classical training in art history and academic drawing, I made Louis XV tables and learned the basics of marquetry. I have kept this attachment to the work of materials, for which I have a great deal of respect.
