Perriand, Charlotte

(1903 - 1999)

Perriand was born in Paris, France to a tailor and a seamstress. Her high school art teacher noticed her drawing abilities early on, and her mother eventually encouraged her to enroll in the Ecole de L'Union Centrale de Arts Decoratifs ("School of the Central Union of Decorative Arts") in 1920 to study furniture design until 1925. One of her noted teachers during this period was Art Deco interior designer Henri Rapin. Perriand continued her education through attending department store classes that provided design workshops. She also went to lectures by Maurice Dufrene, the studio director of the La Maitrise worksop. In 1925, her projects from schoolwork were selected to be a part of the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decortifs et Industriels Modernes. Dufrene also put her wall-hanging designs on display at the Galeries Lafayette around this time.