Galeries Lafayette, where commerce meets design
Théophile Bader, the founder of Galeries Lafayette knew that the department stores' had to develop at the speed of culture and constantly reinvent itself to attract and amaze. A visionary and patron of the arts, he commissioned the architect Ferdinand Chanut to build the huge dome on boulevard Haussmann, and entrusted its decoration to master glass-maker Jacques Grüber. He was also responsible for the creation of La Maîtrise, Galeries Lafayette's in-house publishing house headed by decorator Maurice Dufrêne, which produced the first designs by Charlotte Perriand, Serge Mouille and the Adnet brothers.
After him, each generation of managers has reaffirmed this historic support for artists to bring their singularity to the heart of life and the city. Whether through artistic commissions or in-store ‘cartes blanches “, the department stores” is committed to supporting the artists of its time by initiating unprecedented encounters between commerce and contemporary creation, between historical heritage and today's artists.
