Art Deco is a style of visual arts, architecture, and design that took shape in France in the 1910s and peaked internationally in the 1920s–early 1930s. The name comes from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, which gave the movement its defining label. The style is marked by bold geometry, strong color, and stylized decoration, drawing on Cubism, the Vienna Secession, and Fauvism, as well as non-Western references (Egyptian, Mayan, Chinese, Japanese, Persian). It touched everything from skyscrapers, cinemas, and ocean liners to furniture, jewelry, glass, and everyday objects like radios and vacuum cleaners.
Key figures include Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann (furniture and total interiors), René Lalique (jewelry and glass), Raoul Dufy (textiles), Jean Dunand (lacquerware), and Georges Fouquet (jewelry). The look moved away from Art Nouveau's dense ornament toward a more rational, geometric, and machine-age elegance—often with rich materials and precise craftsmanship. Paris landmarks such as the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and the Palais de Chaillot remain iconic examples of the style.
Art Deco never really disappeared; it has had lasting influence and is having a clear revival in 2024–2025, around the centenary of the 1925 Exposition. Designers and audiences are drawn to its drama, symmetry, and luxury (velvet, silk, metallics, jewel tones) as a reaction to minimalism and "quiet luxury." Contemporary takes mix classic Deco motifs—sunbursts, chevrons, mirrored surfaces, globe lights—with modern materials and "Deco-Tech" or maximalist interiors, making the style relevant to both design professionals and enthusiasts who want history and glamour in their feed.