A classic car fan and an expert on Burgundy wines, Jean-Pierre Ploué, 62, formerly Stellantis Chief Design Officer, claims that any career is meaningless “where passion is wanting”.
Speaking of passions, what are your hobbies?
“I collect watches. I don’t mean ultra-pricey items, but practical timepieces. I have several Seiko watches and I especially like the line designed by Giugiaro. My favourite is the Speed Master Chronograph with its sloping dial to make it easier to see while driving’.
And cars?
“This is a passion I share with some of my children. I have a small collection of historic models that I have collected over the years: a 1958 Citroen 2CV, a 1957 DS, a short-wheelbase Land Rover Defender, but I also like sports cars like the Ferrari 512 BB, which I consider one of the most beautiful cars of the 1970s, and the immortal Jaguar E-Type. I drive these cars whenever I can and I have very special feelings when I do: the aroma in my 2CV is the same that emanated from my great-grandfather: we used to go fishing together on Wednesdays and it reminds me of those moments.
Which designers do you get your inspiration from?
“I would start with the French architect Jean-Michel Wilmotte: I am struck by the elegance of everything he designs and I believe he has a unique ability to make his works easy on the eye. All this charm is also reflected in his character: he is a good friend of mine and I remember a wonderful trip to Tehran together. I also adore Philippe Starck, his works manage to be popular and unique at the same time, with a touch of poetry. Finally, Zaha Hadid: modern, visionary, her designs take you into the future and are really exciting”.
When did you first realise you wanted to be a designer?
“From a very young age, my father would challenge me to build high-performance mechanical objects using Meccano or Lego. I always tried to fuel this interest and my mother found out that there was a watch design school in Besançon that had a section dedicated to interior architecture. There I realised that being a designer was a possibility for me and after my Master’s Degree at the Ensaama School in Paris I went to work at Renault as a designer. A profession that I have never left, where the passion and emotions generated by creation are always present”.
What was the encounter that turned your career around?
“In the early 2000s, I was working in Paris as head of design at Citroën, then part of the Psa group. One day Gregoire Olivier, who was head of strategy, phoned me and asked me if I would also take care of Peugeot brand design, a choice that the Peugeot family also supported. It was a great satisfaction for me. Citroën’s sales were going very well thanks also to the way the cars looked. It was a fundamental encounter for my career that opened the door then to my directing the design of eight brands”.
Which cities dictate the trends today?
“If we are talking about lifestyle, Lisbon is growing a lot in terms of events that blend in with the charm of a seaside city, with the typical Portuguese rhythm that is attentive to the quality of life. If we refer to innovation in terms of new mobility services, northern European cities like Amsterdam and Copenhagen are where it’s at, but also the whole Asian continent is strongly driven by tech. Fashion-wise, Paris and Milan are two important centres, while Turin is still key when it comes to design. This is also demonstrated by the growing interest of Chinese companies that have their style centres in Turin. And of course we have decided to keep the design centre of all our Italian brands in Turin: from Alfa Romeo to Fiat and Abarth, from Lancia to Maserati’.
Have you lived in Turin?
“Yes, I think it’s a fantastic city to live in partly because of its location: it’s people-friendly, the mountains that frame it generate stupendous panoramas and offer beautiful opportunities for road trips, and close by is the Langhe, a place that allows me to indulge my other passions: good food and wine. I was born in Burgundy and am a member of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin: one of the oldest confraternities of wine connoisseurs in Burgundy”.
