Famous French Designers

Ettore Bugatti was an automobile designer and manufacturer. He is credited with founding the popular car manufacturer Automobiles E. Bugatti, which gained prominence as the maker of some of the fastest and technologically advanced cars of its day. In 2000, Ettore Bugatti was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.

Julia Restoin Roitfeld is a French designer and creative director. Julia has worked with some of the most prestigious brands, such as Miu Miu and Jean-Paul Gaultier. She has also modeled for international brands like Tom Ford, Lancôme, and Givenchy. Julia Restoin Roitfeld has also graced the cover pages of international publications like Elle, Vogue, Madame Figaro, and Harper's Bazaar.

Charlotte Perriand was a French architect and designer known for her unique approach of correlating “the art of dwelling with the art of living.” She was interested in designing from a young age and received her training at the École de L'Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. She worked with prominent Swiss-French architect Le Corbusier for several years. 

Hector Guimard was a French designer and architect. A popular exponent of the Art Nouveau style, Guimard is credited with designing several important landmarks, including Paris' first Art Nouveau apartment building, The Castel Béranger. Although Art Nouveau went out of style during the 1910s, Hector Guimard's works attracted critical acclaim in the 1960s, with art historians praising his architectural works.

Claude Nicolas Ledoux was a French architect, known for developing an eclectic architectural style, linked with budding pre-Revolutionary social ideals. First noticed for his imaginative woodwork at Café militaire, he was soon flooded with commissions, designing numerous private houses in the neoclassical style for the French elite, also receiving commission for designing public buildings including the Ledoux’s Theatre of Besançon.

Robert Mallet-Stevens was a French designer and architect. An influential personality, Robert Mallet-Stevens designed several shops, factories, private homes, and apartment buildings. He also designed film sets including the set for L'Inhumaine, which is considered a masterpiece. His works inspired the 1929 film The Mysteries of the Château de Dé which was directed by surrealist filmmaker and photographer Man Ray.

Born to a Norwegian father, whom she didn’t know until she grew up, and a Romanian mother, who was associated with the stage, Maria Björnson established herself as a leading set and costume designer. She is best known for her Tony-winning work in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.

François de Cuvilliés was a Bavarian architect and decorative designer. He played a key role in bringing the Rococo style to the House of Wittelsbach and to Central Europe. He designed several important buildings, such as The Old Residence Theatre which he constructed for Elector Max III Joseph. François de Cuvilliés also wrote many treatises on decorative and artistic subjects.

Charles Percier introduced what is now known as the Empire style of interior decoration, along with Pierre Fontaine, whom he met while studying architecture in Paris. The Prix de Rome winner often blended Greco-Roman and Egyptian styles of architecture and co-designed much of the Louvre and the Tuileries Palace.

Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier was a French painter, goldsmith, architect, sculptor, and furniture designer. Renowned for his spectacular decorative style, Juste-Aurèle Meissonnier worked for the nobility of France, Portugal, and Poland. His works are currently preserved at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum in Manhattan, New York City, USA.