Andrée Putman

Andrée Putman, born on December 23, 1925, in Paris, and passing away on January 19, 2013, was a French designer, interior architect, and decorator who left a lasting mark on contemporary design through her minimalist and elegant approach. Her style, combining sobriety, modernity, and timelessness, influenced the design of hotels, luxury boutiques, cultural spaces, and iconic furniture. She played a key role in the revival of modernism, particularly by bringing forgotten 20th-century designers back into the spotlight.

She truly began her career in design in the early 1970s when she joined the Créateurs & Industriels style agency, founded by Denise Fayolle and Didier Grumbach. This collective aimed to democratize design and bridge the gap between designers and industry. During this period, she discovered avant-garde designers such as Jean-Michel Frank, Eileen Gray, and Pierre Chareau, whose works she would later help revive.

In 1978, Andrée Putman founded her own agency, Ecart International, with the goal of reissuing works by forgotten modernist designers. Through this initiative, she brought back into the spotlight the furniture and objects of Eileen Gray, Robert Mallet-Stevens, and Mariano Fortuny, restoring modernism’s streamlined aesthetics to a central role in interior design.

Her first major project, which propelled her onto the international stage, was the interior design of the Morgans Hotel in New York in 1984, commissioned by Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell. This boutique hotel revolutionized luxury hospitality with its minimalist approach, featuring black and white marble, clean lines, and a refined atmosphere. This project became a signature of Putman’s style and marked the beginning of a series of collaborations with prestigious brands.

In 1997, she established Studio Putman, continuing her work in design, architecture, and the art of living. Under her leadership, and later that of her daughter Olivia Putman, the studio continues to develop innovative interior designs and modernist-inspired objects, carrying forward Andrée Putman’s legacy in contemporary design.