Paul Iribe was a French illustrator, designer, and provocateur whose multifaceted career placed him at the heart of early 20th-century Parisian style and society.
Beginning as a fashion illustrator, Iribe rose to prominence through his collaboration with the influential couturier Paul Poiret, bringing a bold, modern aesthetic to Poiret’s revolutionary designs and helping to shape the visual language of pre-war haute couture.
Iribe’s talents extended beyond fashion into the world of interiors, where he created lavish and imaginative designs for the legendary collector Jacques Doucet, one of the great tastemakers of the Belle Époque and early modernist period. His circle also included Coco Chanel, with whom he shared a romantic and artistic partnership during the 1930s.
A passionate and often polemical figure, Iribe was deeply engaged in the cultural debates of his time. He was highly critical of the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, opposing what he saw as the dominant influence of Cubism, which he believed undermined classical form and elegance. His views often placed him at odds with the modernist mainstream, yet they also underscored his commitment to a distinct and expressive vision of French art and design.
Iribe’s work, striking, theatrical, and frequently provocative, reflects both the glamour and tensions of his era. He remains an emblematic figure of early 20th-century decorative arts, bridging the worlds of fashion, design, and illustration with singular flair.
