parisian, born in 1925, is one of the contemporary world's
leading interior designers.
andrée putman has an eclectic background.
she began to work in the 1960s as a journalist for the design
magazine 'l’oeil' (eye) and to write the column ‘decoration’
in the 'les cahiers de elle' and had a career as a marketing
consultant in the fashion world.
ms. putman may be best known for having assembled a
collection of 20th century modern furnishings to be
reproduced by her firm 'ecart international', founded in 1978
and located in paris' 16th arrondisement.
it is largely through ecart's efforts that pieces by at the time
forgotten designers as eileen gray, mallet-stevens,
pierre chareau, mariano fortuny, rene herbst and jean-michel frank
were re-introduced to the design world.
andrée putman designed the interior of shops for yves st. laurent,
karl lagerfeld, thierry mugler, azzedine alaia, cartier, ebel,
mannequins for barneys, interiors of the concorde for air france.
when ian schrager and steve rubell opened morgans hotel,
designed by ms. putman, in 1984, the notion of the 'boutique hotel'
was born. many hotels followed, among them 'wasserturm'
in cologne and 'pershing hall' hotel in paris.
ms. putman created the film set for peter greenaway’s movie
'the pillow book', the office of jack lang, frances's former minister
of culture; the bordeux museum of contemporary art...
in 1997 she founded a new firm in her own name -
design products carrying her signature encompass furniture,
and home accessories as flatware, silver, crystal, tableware,
textiles, carpets and rugs, towels, sheets ...fragrance.
"Not only is Andrée Putman a wizard of design; she is also a muse that inspires timelessness."
Jack Lang, former French Minister of Culture
Andrée Putman was first cut above the rest when, twenty years ago, she conceived the first boutique hotel, the Morgan. She was also the one to open a new path for modern design, reinstating the importance of such major designers as Eileen Gray, Robert Mallet Stevens, Mariano Fortuny, and Jean-Michel Frank, among informed professionals. Since then, Putman¹s eclecticism has led her to embrace projects as diverse as the Guggenheim Museum, the Azzedine Alaïa boutique and Peter Greenaway movie sets. Today, the designer¹s elegant and bold style is known throughout the world, from Los Angeles to Shanghai, a city where she created numerous projects.
Andrée Putman Style is a journey into the world of an uncommon designer, one which acquaints the reader with the influences and taste that inspired this amazing woman.
