Andrée Putman—the 90s Style Icon Who Designed the First Boutique Hotel and the Interiors for the Concorde—Is Back in the Spotlight

"There’s a rumor floating around that you know how to do bathrooms without marble.” As Andrée Putman tells it, this is what Studio 54 owners Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell said in 1984 when they asked her to design Morgans, now heralded as the world’s first boutique hotel. Indeed, the Parisian talent didn’t need any richly figured stone to make a statement. Instead she splashed every guest bath in unforgettable grids of inexpensive black-and-white tile, a signature that would earn her the nickname La Reine du Damier, or Queen of the Checkerboard.Back in production, Putman’s tile-clad Mille et un Carré table is pictured in the Paris dining room of Jean-Paul Goude, circa 1992. Photo: Deidi Von SchaewenThe bedroom is tucked away behind a pair of elegant metallic gauze curtains - a simple and effecitve solution to maximise living space Photo: Mark Luscombe-Whyte/Trunk ArchiveFor the centennial of Putman’s birth, the design world has been reflecting on that project and on her many other spaces that epitomized the 1980s and ’90s—from quietly luxurious cabins of the Concorde to her own Paris loft to the Art Deco–era pieces by Eileen Gray and Jean-Michel Frank that she revived under her company Ecart International, sold in 1994 and now owned by Pierre Yovanovitch. “In my mind, she was greater than an interior designer; she created atmospheres,” muses designer Rafael de Cárdenas, who, like many of his peers, continues to reference Putman’s restrained, sharp, and surprising body of work. “She had this classicist approach of reducing decoration to its bare minimum. There’s a subtlety to it that is so beguiling.”Voie Lactée, the wool-and-silk rug designed by Putman for her own home in 1978, is now offered in contemporary editions. Photo: Courtesy of Studio Andrée PutmanThe reissued Compas Dans L’Oeil floor lamp was originally designed in 1988 and later used in the guest rooms at Morgans Hotel. Photo: Courtesy of Studio Andrée PutmanPutman's beloved 1984 bathrooms (one shown) for New York's Morgans Hotel featured black-and-white checkerboard tile and industrial metal sinks. Photo: Deidi Von SchaewenIn recent months, Aurélie Laure—CEO of the Andrée Putman brand since last year—and the designer’s daughter, Olivia, have been reintroducing that legacy to the world through reeditions and collector’s pieces. “It’s a French company with very French roots, but it has an American story,” notes Laure, explaining their decision to establish a foothold in both countries. In January, they opened a new Paris showroom, followed in May by a space on Manhattan’s Bowery, where Putman once rubbed elbows with artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol (Olivia spent a summer working from Basquiat’s studio nearby).In 1984, Putman designed office chairs for the French Minister of Culture—now newly available. Photo: Deidi Von SchaewenPictured at a New York apartment, circa 1985, the Crescent Moon sofa is part of the revived Andrée Putman Studio brand. Photo: Deidi Von SchaewenNow rebranded as Andrée Putman Studio, the interiors and furniture label has launched over 60 designs this year alone, an array that reads a bit like a highlights reel of Putman’s prolific output. They include the Compas Dans L’Oeil floor lamp used in guest rooms at Morgans Hotel; the Agenda de Ministre chair she specified for France’s Ministry of Culture office in 1984; and the white-tile table she conceived for graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude’s Paris home in 1992. The latter is now also available in limited-edition silver leaf, a fresh tribute to her beloved high-low mixes.“She could take something out of its context and into another one,” says interior designer Elliott Barnes, who worked under Putman for 17 years, recalling, for example, the bracelet of industrial ball-bearings that Putman would often wear with a chic nonchalance. “All of a sudden it became fresh and incredibly timeless.” A look back at some iconic projects and new launches confirms her work is still very much that.This story appears in the September issue. Never miss a story when you subscribe to AD.