Design Icons: Charlotte Perriand

The next in our series of Design Icons, Charlotte Perriand is a woman whose strength and dedication to her passion has inspired Alice Made This from the very beginning. She was a french architect and designer who aimed to create functional living spaces in the belief that better design helps towards a better society. In her article 'L'Art de Vivre' she stated "the extension of the art of dwelling is the art of living - living in harmony with man's deepest drives and with his adopted or fabricated environment." Our enviroments should enhance our lives not distract from them.

She was famously rejected from Le Corbusier's studio in 1927 with the reply "we don't embroider cushions here". She then renovated her apartment into a room with a large bar made of aluminium, glass and chrome, leading to her getting a job in furniture design at Le Corbusier's studio. There she was in charge of their interiors work and designed three chairs for the studio with Le Corbusier's principles in mind.

By adding a warm human touch to the cold rationalism of Le Corbusier, combined with her later work in the East, she produced a harmony of tradition and modernity. Her talent for discovering new materials and processes is something that we have taken to the core of Alice Made This.