It was in 1910 that Jules Leleu, famous designer, founded Maison Leleu with his brother and then shared his passion for excellence with his 3 children, initiating a real family saga. The house quickly distinguished itself by the elegance of its collections of fine wood furniture and established itself as a symbol of French luxury.
His approach is global since he designs entire decors coordinating furniture with fabrics, rugs and wallpapers, offering a setting highlighting his furniture creations. Similarly, Leleu has always designed lighting: sconces and chandeliers in alabaster, sconces in gilded bronze, floor lamps in mahogany or rosewood.
Personalities from all over the world flock to the famous store on Avenue Franklin Roosevelt in Paris.
Known for its timeless designs and Art Deco lines, Maison Leleu also marks the great modernist movement: clean lines, geometrization of shapes, predominance of metal. Jules Leleu knew how to transcend the Art Deco period through his artistic vocation.
Between 1910 and 1973, Leleu registered his name in the largest decorative projects. The decoration of legendary liners such as France or Normandy is entrusted to Maison Leleu.
The Maison teamed up with Baccarat and Maison Porthauld to meet demand across the Atlantic, notably decorating the Eisenhower mansion. Leleu created the UN lounge in Geneva, which has remained intact to this day, or benches for the Louvre Museum.
The House’s success is worldwide, until the day when the Shah of Iran entrusted it with the transformation of Persepolis, 64 hectares of ruins, into a place of celebration to celebrate the 2,500 years of the Persian Empire. These 2 years of work will sign the closure of Maison Leleu in 1973 since this pharaonic project will never be paid.
The rigorous selection of materials, the timeless design and the choice of a traditional manufacturing allow Leleu creations to cross time and eras by making them the rank of real heritage objects sought after by collectors.
Having grown up among the creations signed by her family and passionate about Art Deco, Alexia Leleu, Jules’ great-granddaughter, finds a former collaborator who saved from a fire all the archives containing the drawings, layers and gouaches of fabrics, wallpapers, rugs.
Today, Maison Leleu continues the family work by offering limited editions of carpets, lighting and furniture, created from original designs and all signed with the famous monogram “Leleu”, in the tradition of a traditional craftsmanship excellency.
All Leleu creations are the result of precious know-how developed over the centuries. Each object is made by hand, several months of work and the pooling of the expertise of several crafts (lacquerer, bronzier, etc …)
A century later, Maison Leleu’s creations still attract art lovers and collectors alike. The house participates in the most prestigious projects in the world (Cartier Samaritaine, Hotel Splendido Belmond…)
In addition to the bespoke edition of historic designs, the House offers brand new creations. For Maison Leleu, the carpet is a central element of interior decoration which “transports and creates this invisible border which suggests a territory”. Each piece signed, numbered, and created to measure, is meticulously crafted in hand-tied stitch; ancestral technique always used by Maison Leleu. Only 8 variations of each model will be published.
“To do this, we have kept the lines and ” signature ” elements of Leleu that we have redesigned and to which we have added contemporary touches to forge links between past and present“.
