Alexander Girard – design full of love
Alexander Girard's colourful designs embody love, joie de vivre and warmth. The designer was born on 24 May 1907 in New York, USA, to an American mother and an Italian father of French descent, and grew up in Florence, Italy. Girard studied at the Royal School of Architecture in Rome, Italy, and then honed his skills in Florence and New York.
The cosmopolitan designer's work spans colourful, folk-inspired textile design, interior design and design accessories such as dolls and toys. In the 1950s, Alexander Girard was seen as ahead of his time – his bright, lively patterns seemed too bold back then.
Today, the few original pieces are highly sought after by collectors and design lovers. Alexander Girard and his wife Susan also left another legacy: a remarkable collection of folk art, contemporary art, textiles and toys that the couple gathered on their travels around the world throughout their lives.
The life and work of Alexander Girard: from Herman Miller to John Deere
During his career, Alexander Girard worked with other renowned designers such as Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson, alongside whom he worked as head of the textile division at Herman Miller. Together, the four formed a successful alliance whose collaboration had a major influence on the American design world.
The first industrially produced collection created under Alexander Girard's direction at Herman Miller comprised seat upholstery with geometric patterns such as triangles, circles and stripes. The material was a cotton that Girard had discovered on a trip through Mexico.
Other clients Girard worked for included the airline Braniff Airlines, for which he was allowed to redesign everything from the sugar sachets to the aircraft themselves, various restaurants and the agricultural machinery manufacturer John Deere.
Another project from Alexander Girard's work with Herman Miller was the "T&O" – Textiles and Objects – showroom, which opened in Manhattan, New York, in 1961. Here the manufacturer showed not only its own textiles but also pieces from Girard's collection of folk art. The colourful objects were probably too far ahead of their time, as the showroom had to close again after only a short while.
Alexander Girard's signature: colours, shapes, patterns, folk art
Alexander Girard's distinctive signature sets his warm-hearted designs radically apart from those of other designers. His playful, flowing shapes are particularly striking: flowers, people, buildings and geometric patterns. Girard consistently relied on colour and meticulously considered forms that, for all their playfulness, are always strictly geometric and remarkably well balanced. In interiors, Alexander Girard's upholstery fabrics, rugs, pictures and toys complement the timeless designs of Charles and Ray Eames and others perfectly, adding aesthetic accents. Girard is also credited with the following words:
"Man's expression of beauty and love is unlimited; by opening one's eyes, ears and heart to it, one can unite the people of the world."
And indeed, love and creativity are the two themes that run like a common thread through all of Alexander Girard's work.
