Who are the founders and what was their vision?

Paris, 1949. Desmond Knox-Leet, a painter trained at the Beaux-Arts and heir to a British aristocratic family, and Christiane Montadre-Gautrot, an interior architect from the Decorative Arts, formed a mirrored friendship: one, an accomplished artist; the other, passionate about craftsmanship. Inspired by sensory memories, such as Desmond’s summers in the South of France and Christiane’s childhood garden near Fontainebleau, they designed upholstery fabric models sold at Liberty and Sanderson. Ten years later, decorator and administrator Yves Coueslant, raised in Indochina, joined the duo. Between Yves, Desmond, and Christiane, there was an immediate connection: three free spirits, a shared creative desire, and the ambition to found their own House.

Learn more about the history of Diptyque here.