Georges Geffroy ( 8 January 1905, Paris - 29 April 1971, Paris ) was a post-war French interior designer.

Biography

"An eighteenth-century gentleman, a figure from another era, one of a breed of decorators that is extinct today,” remembers couturier Hubert de Givenchy; Geffroy was a purist. He never accepted more than one job at a time—that way, he could devote himself entirely to each assignment. Moreover, he guided his clients in buying art, assisting them with the polite authority of a connoisseur. In the appraisal of antique furniture, he had an especially unerring eye. The designer was a prominent society figure in postwar Paris, and his clients were invariably personal friends. In the afternoons he could be seen making the rounds of the dealers with millionaire socialite Arturo Lopez-Willshaw, and later he would escort through the galleries.

Geffroy was born in Paris on January 8, 1905. He began his career as a fashion designer, working for Antoine de Grandsaignes of Decour. He later became an interior designer, and was popular among the French elite in a postwar Paris. He had his taffetas, silk satins, and failles made by Prelle, a silk manufacturer located in Lyon. He is known for his unconventional choices in textiles, unique pieces of furniture which he designed, and a love of antiques.

Some of his associates included Arturo Lopez-Wilshaw, a millionaire-socialite, and Gloria Guinness, whom he would escort through galleries.

He died on April 29, 1971, at the age of 66.^[1][2][3]

Notable Clients

• Mrs Moreira-Sales, the wife of the Brazilian ambassador to Franc
• Pierre David-Weill, a French investment banker
• The Baronne de Montesquiou
• Sir Duff Cooper and Lady Diana Cooper, the British ambassador to France
• Alain Delon, Movie actor

Notes and references