When I think about the glamour, chic, and elegance of the French interior, the first name that comes to mind is that of interior designer François Catroux (1936-2020), who died this week at 83. It is not because he designed homes, yachts, and palaces for royals and society -- Marie-Héléne, Guy de Rothschild, Barry Diller, and David Geffen -- and not because he famously married Yves Saint Laurent's muse Betty, but Catroux has had a magnificent style that very few possessed, and his ability to create interiors which are modern and timeless at the same time, was his key commodity.
While Catroux never studied interior design or architecture, he knew interiors like few did. In fact, he started his career as a writer who specializes in writing articles about interiors. Like his friend Saint Laurent, he was born in French Algeria in 1936. The two grew up together, went to school together, and crafted spectacular and influential careers in Paris, that were synonymous with success. Catroux's first project, a minimalist showroom in the Milanese palazzo of couturier Mila Schon, landed him the cover of magazine L’Oeil, starting a long legacy.
He knew design, antiques, and history and mastered composing the three into magnificent spaces, personal, clean, crisp. Under his hands, antiques received new interpretation and looked as fresh as the contemporary. Despite the fact that Catroux worked all over the world, and lead a jet-set lifestyle, he was never a household name; David Netto's volume Francois Catroux, published by Rizzoli in 2016 is the single document which deeply explores his career and puts his work in context/ It demonstrates that throughout his life, his interiors were always surprising. Lets remember Francois Catroux. Images via Vanify Fair.
While Catroux never studied interior design or architecture, he knew interiors like few did. In fact, he started his career as a writer who specializes in writing articles about interiors. Like his friend Saint Laurent, he was born in French Algeria in 1936. The two grew up together, went to school together, and crafted spectacular and influential careers in Paris, that were synonymous with success. Catroux's first project, a minimalist showroom in the Milanese palazzo of couturier Mila Schon, landed him the cover of magazine L’Oeil, starting a long legacy.
He knew design, antiques, and history and mastered composing the three into magnificent spaces, personal, clean, crisp. Under his hands, antiques received new interpretation and looked as fresh as the contemporary. Despite the fact that Catroux worked all over the world, and lead a jet-set lifestyle, he was never a household name; David Netto's volume Francois Catroux, published by Rizzoli in 2016 is the single document which deeply explores his career and puts his work in context/ It demonstrates that throughout his life, his interiors were always surprising. Lets remember Francois Catroux. Images via Vanify Fair.
