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 kindred friendship: one, an accomplished artist; the other, passionate about craftsmanship. Fueled by sensory memories, such as Desmond’s summers in the South of France and Christiane’s childhood garden near Fontainebleau, they designed furnishing fabrics 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, the same creative desire, and the ambition to found their own Maison. 

Learn more about the history of Diptyque here.