Interior designer and co-founder of Studio Kanta Adrien Kent explores his creative side from a place of calm while celebrating the fluidity in his self-expression.
The stillness in the room shatters as Adrien Kent walks in, greeting everyone with his sprightly baritone voice and a gregarious personality.
“Hi everyone!” he breaks the deep concentration in the room before his voice plummets into an instant diminuendo upon realising an ongoing shoot in the studio. He lowers his head, in a hunching position while clutching on his bag — moving to an empty corner.
I’ve seen him a few times at events but this time, a closer look offers a different perspective of the interior designer.
He stands out. Physically, he is tall, statuesque and enigmatic. And from the inside, he radiates a certain kind of aura that draws people to him — his personality shines through his wit and charm. When he laughs, you laugh with him; and it is the sort of positivity that makes this free-spirited creative absolutely amicable. The energy is contagious.
Dressed in a statement palazzo pants and boxy black ensemble from local designer A-Jane, Adrien explores his creative side — not on paper but on set. He moves like he would dancing to jazzy tunes, entranced. In the back of his mind, he wants to create something magical — something different and unique like he would in his many designs.
“My work always starts with a minimalist point of view. It is very serene. It comes from a place of calm and serenity. I believe a lot of softness comes from that,” he utters.
And there he is, moving like water before bursting into dynamic poses as he tosses the flared pants to the side — one foot on the pedestal like a resting crane. He finds composure as his eyes beaming, tranquil, before exploding into another stance; this time of a warrior ready to pounce on its enemy.
Surprised, I observe with a question on this erratic behaviour; brows askew. But just like most of his design schemes, Adrien has always an element of surprise in his sleeves — something unpredictable of sorts. “Well, the final ingredient has to be something unexpected to give it that punch or twist… be it a piece of furniture or a crazy colour scheme.”
Many people may not know that Adrien Kent is actually his ‘brand’ and not his actual name. Born Adrien Ritzal, the 35-year-old Malay-Chinese credits the Adrien Kent moniker to his father. “When I started my brand name, I wanted to have something to do with that side of the family.”
But beyond that, the name Adrien Kent has been synonymous to the many great designs that he has produced alongside his business partner Suek Mei at Studio Kanta. Studio Kanta is a local design house that is responsible for many beautifully curated (and Instagram-famous) spaces including Common Ground offices, COCOdry, LAX Retreat, ALAIA Showroom, Fern boutique, as well as some of your favourite staycation places including The Chow Kit Hotel, KLoe Hotel and AMI Suites by Arte.
“Common Ground was the most game-changing for me,” he expresses. A few years ago, when the co-working space concept started to boom in Malaysia, it got a lot of business owners jumping onto the bandwagon. The concept began in the last two decades with the likes of companies like WeWork and MINDSPACE being extremely big in New York and Europe. Adrien explains that his clients wanted to introduce this concept to Kuala Lumpur. At that time, no one realised how big it was going to be.
For him, the design has to be a balance between people and place. “We work closely with the client to understand what the concept is all about. They flew us to Singapore to check out the co-working space there — from tech-related ones to something of a Soho House vibe. We also realised that it is very area driven,” he comments.
In the end of the day, he feels that designing is a collaborative effort between various parties — in this case, it’s between him and the client. “Working alongside their business plan is key — we find design solutions that would work while complementing with the constraints we have… be it budget, on-site, or limited space.”
“We started with one, and then with further expansion, we did a few more after that and the co-working space project helped propel the company to the next level. I think that has to be my biggest achievement so far,” he wraps.
“I didn’t finish school,” he admits. After leaving university during his final year, he went straight into interior design, working for a firm for three years before getting headhunted to work as a designer in the F&B industry. He slowly finds his grounds and started his own company afterwards.
At this point, he runs some numbers in his head, adding up the equation to number of years it has been since he started. “Has it been 15 years?” he attempts. “No it can’t be…”
But many wouldn’t have known that Adrien has his hands in interior design from a very young age. “I always believe that I got into interior design because I play a lot of The Sims when I was a kid,” he chuckles almost at a disbelief. “I like to build houses and arrange the spaces. I would start designing for people and my sister, and they would be asking me to design their houses. So I feel that I have the knack for design. And with The Sims 2 and The Sims 3 being released, I kept practising you know,” continues Adrien with an echoing laughter.
To say that Adrien is self-taught is an understatement. He is more of a natural talent with an incredible eye for spaces. “I learned the hard way. I made mistakes and I stumbled many times. I think I would call myself street smart and through the years of experience, it has helped me become the designer I am today.”
He also quips that many super architects out there who didn’t actually finish their studies. “Everyone is different. We all walk different paths and go through different journeys to become who we are today,” he notes while tousling with his hair, and the answer could not be anymore perfect.
Adrien believes that in defining themselves as designers, it’s a constant battle between interior decorating and interior designing.
“You can’t do one thing without the other. Having that ‘eye’ for decorating helps with interior architecture, vice versa. If you don’t know how to decorate, I don’t think you can design a space anyway. It’s a balance that you need to strike,” he adds.
When it comes to his thinking process, Adrien shares how ideas come to him at the weirdest hours of the day. “I usually would have my phone right next to me and I would do a quick moodboard on my phone using an app — let’s say if I can’t sleep and this random idea just pops out of no where. I’ll put together photos of furniture or artworks to get the colour scheme right, and then hang on to that. Then, I’ll go back to the studio and do a material board to work with the materials we have. After that I go straight to 3D and then the plan,” he continues.
It is very unconventional but Adrien stresses that the interior design process is not linear. “I just want to change the methodology in terms of how we see design. There are different ways to make design fun — just like playing The Sims!”
Currently obsessed with India Madhavi and her use of pastels in unimaginable ways, Adrien finds his ideas from anything and everything he stumbles upon. Inspiration is a constant discovery for the designer and it is about exploring the different facets and being in the know with what’s going on. Adrien mentions movies and song lyrics as some of his sources of inspiration when it comes to putting together concept decks.
He attributes his success to the other half of Studio Kanta and the people he works closely with — his tribe as he calls it.
“It’s good to be in a partnership with another person and having a team of varying thoughts. We challenge each other and find the balance between dualities,” says the winner of reality TV show The Apartment (Season 7).
Describing himself as a gregarious person who likes making jokes everywhere while punching laughters after laughters at work and at home, Adrien admits that the pandemic has pretty much toned down the crazier side of his younger self.
“I have become more serious, more pragmatic…” he muses. “The world has changed everyone. Maybe because I started a bar, and partying to me is now also work? But I’ve realised that the world worlds aren’t that different anymore.”
Adrien speaks of Kantata, what he describes as a ‘karaoke bar’ of sorts. Coffee and chocolate in the day, the space turns into a safe haven for colourful and bright people at night with disco balls, vinyls and great music for the progressives in the city.
“Back in the day before the pandemic, there’s this karaoke bar that we would frequent every week and we realised we might actually bring everyone together. I am quite a social person and I like when my friends are all together — the idea of bringing the community and people together. And we like to throw parties!” he elaborates.
And with luck on his side, there was a space in Zhongshan where Studio Kanta is, perfect for what he and his business partner had intended to do. One pitch and a couple of convincing acts later, Kantata was born.
“We like karaoke very much and I wanted a karaoke bar. So we call it Kantata because ‘cantata’ means a piece of music and in the Latin derivative, ‘cantare’ means to sing — how apt kan?,” Adrien gestures with his hands moving like nomenclature in an orchestra — a single-man one perhaps, looking as my eyes move in unison with his hands, to and fro. “I feel like bringing people together is also a symphony — just singing their hearts out and being free.”
He releases one deep breath, a very contented one. Feeling like he has accomplished something meaningful, he adds: “I think it’s a great way to expose ourselves, pivot and expand our portfolio while showing what we can do when we design our own space. Just hitting many birds with one stone.”
“I’ve always wanted to learn about the arts and being able to express myself freely. It’s been a long journey all the way from university to today — to find out what I really like and what I am today but I’m still learning. I believe my style continues to change up to this day,” pauses Adrien, in deep thoughts.
When it comes to his design ethos and personality, they are both the same. Adrien describes himself as a very calm person but there’s always something very unexpected — beware!
“I’m very forgiving in life and in my design — I don’t believe in perfection and there’s no way we can achieve that. I want to help the people I’m designing for achieve what they want without having to convince them to spend so much but taking so long to get everything back in return,” he muses. “I’m realistic lah.”
Adrien considers himself quite lucky. He is rather privileged to be in a bubble where it’s safe to explore. Sometimes, he feels like Spiderman — with great power privilege comes great responsibility — to show those who see him on Instagram to feel inspired or empowered to feel that they can do this too and be okay. To succeed and not having to be shunned by society.
“People are self-expressing a lot more,” he underlines. “I have to carry that torch sometimes with the privilege that I have…umm… and dressing up to me is freeing but at the same time scary,” he throws the question back, looking for affirmations.
“I’m also pushing and challenging myself at the same time to see what I can be comfortable with. Like, is this the right thing to wear to Bangsar Village? It’s like a social experiment for the society, I think, and it’s kinda fun you know,” he chuckles.
He speaks with restraint. There are many layers in the society right now and he opines like it is not as simple as it sounds. “When you say acceptance, it can be tolerance or a celebration. People can accept but they talk behind your back. They can tolerate but they cannot fully accept it on the inside.”
Adrien harbours hope that one day will come where people who more fluid are celebrated and normalised. While his posse are used to it, not many are accepting of this ‘self-expression’. The interior designer hopes to be someone people can look up to, especially those who are embracing fluidity and want to express themselves freely.
“I think the first step is finding your tribe and never do things alone — have each other’s backs. Find people who share your ideals and live the fantasy with you!” he advises.
Of course, being fluid doesn’t pose as an added advantage to his work but he feels that he shouldn’t be judged by the way he looks — just allowing his works speak for themselves.
“You can explore all you want but it’s about being authentic and true. People will realise that I am who I am when they meet me. I am just being myself,” says Adrien, lips puckered and ready to slay!
Lifestyle Asia KL introduces LSA 100, an annual list that recognises Malaysia’s most influential names and celebrates their talents, contributions, successes and milestones. As the bellwether of style, travel, design, entertainment, business, sports, and more, these 100 Malaysians represent the next generation of go-getters who are paving the way for sharing their know-hows with the world through the power of digital media. LSA100 comprises five categories namely The Rule Breakers, The Joy Sparkers, The Dreamcatchers, The Rocketeers and The Explorers. Find out more about LSA100 Class of 2022, HERE.
Editor
Martin has a bent for history and food culture, especially of the Peranakan heritage. Since the pandemic, he finds joy in plant parenting and continues to expand his collection of Philodendrons, Anthuriums, and Syngoniums. On his free time, he finds time scouring through the latest cafes in search for the best croissant in the city.
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