Paule Marrot

She experienced strong popularity in the U.S. after World War II, worked with Renault to develop the company's textile and color division, and redefined furnishing fabrics in her native country of France.

Marrot won the gold medal in the textile category at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris in 1925; the Prix Blumenthal in 1928; and was awarded the French Légion d'honneur (Legion of Honor), as Chevalier, in 1952.

[2] Marrot attended L’école des Arts Décoratifs in Paris at age 14 and in 1917 apprenticed in engraving and textile printing with Pierre Léon Dusouchet.

[2] In 1925, Marrot shows printed fabrics at the Worlds Fair's International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts that showcases to her personality and new style which wins her a gold medal.

Working with Margaret Owen, she established the import of her textiles to the USA[1] — Jacqueline Kennedy subsequently designing a living room around Marrot's Les Tulipes cotton print.

[4] Coincidentally, Marrot had written a letter to Renault's chairman, Pierre Lefaucheux, giving her opinion that the postwar cars of Paris were a uniformly somber parade — and wondering whether an artist could not help find fresh, vibrant colors.

[4] Marrot and her team then developed complementary interior fabrics for the seats and door panels, turning to Paris' large textile houses.