Whatever your leanings towards Art Deco – and beyond its being a handy shortcut for conjuring up the perceived glamour and gratuitous excess of the F. Scott Fitzgerald-documented jazz age – few decorating styles have had such impact over the last century. An expansively inclusive modern movement that, contrary to modernism, saw merit in decorative flourishes, this year marks its centenary. It was the 1925 French-hosted International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts that popularised its elegant columns, gleaming curves, and glossy stylised patterns in monochrome tones. But while historians tend to date Art Deco’s demise to 1939 and the outbreak of World War II, the truth, as anyone au fait with contemporary interiors knows, is that it’s still widely referenced today – and can still feel fresh.
There are myriad collections that can confirm that: Francis Sultana’s ‘Homage to the Art Deco’ furniture, de Gournay’s ‘Deco’ hand-painted wall coverings, Campbell Rey’s Jean Dunand-inspired trays for The Lacquer Company, and Bryan O’Sullivan’s designs for Claridge’s Restaurant. More than frivolity and free-flowing champagne, “Art Deco embodies the idea that design can be both functional and transformative – and it’s a reminder that beauty, precision and craftsmanship should have a place in our everyday lives,” explains Bryan, of its contemporary appeal.
Returning to 1925, the exhibition was world fair-like in its size, covering 72 acres of central Paris with 15,000 exhibitors from 20 different countries. ‘Reproductions’ and ‘imitations of ancient styles’ were forbidden – the aim was to highlight the new, forward-looking style of architecture, interior decoration, and decorative arts, (this directive caused the then U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Herbert Hoover, to refuse the invitation to exhibit, on account of there being “no modern art in America.”) With a wide scope, there was variation in the recognisable formative influences. This included, in the broad gesture and fine detail, Art Nouveau, the Ballets Russes, Ancient Egypt, the Classical Civilisations, American Indian, Folk Art, Cubism, and nature, all of which were reinterpreted by way of clean lines and strong contrast, and imbued with the idealistic promise of a beautiful future.
One of the centrepieces was a striking fountain designed by René Lalique, built using caryatids (sculpted female figure pillars) in moulded glass, which lit up at night. The exhibition was split into pavilions designed by architects, each incorporating their country’s own interpretation of modern design using new materials and structural forms. The British pavilion resembled a cathedral, and Belgium’s was designed by the renowned art nouveau architect Victor Horta, who broke with his usual florid style and instead created a structure of rectilinear forms. France had multiple pavilions, the most acclaimed was a showcase for the decorator and furniture designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann, and consisted of a suite of luxuriously furnished rooms, titled ‘House of the Collector.’ “The way he considered the whole space from the architecture to the fabrics and accessories – it hadn’t really been done before,” says Francis Sultana, of what was, essentially, a Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). Another French pavilion was co-conceived by Le Corbusier, made of concrete, steel, and glass with no ornament at all, but the organisers were so horrified by this Modernist opposition to the Art Deco style that they tried to hide it behind a fence. “It was a turning of time,” says Will Fisher of Jamb, of the exhibition as a whole.
Behind the show was hard, and necessary, commercial intent. The exhibition had been postponed due to the Great War, and then again in 1922 due to a lack of available construction materials in the wake of European post-war recovery, and it was decided that its 1925 mounting should specifically honour the Allied countries (Germany wasn’t invited). With this, it embraced both hand-crafted luxury and mass production. The major French department stores Galeries Lafayette, Le Bon Marché and Printemps, each also had a pavilion, their wares more affordable than Ruhlmann’s. The range was gladly welcomed by a global population craving a new look and in need of an optimistic view, and there were 16 million visitors over the seven month run. For context, Disneyland Paris (the most popular theme park in Europe) currently averages 12 million visitors over a whole year, and the Louvre (the most visited museum in the world) has 9 million.
