Boris Lacroix

Jean-Boris Lacroix (1902–1984) was a French architect, designer, and draughtsman associated with Art Deco and modernist design during the early and mid-20th century. He is best known for his elegant lighting designs, characterized by geometric clarity, refined materials, and technical experimentation. His work often combined metal, glass, acrylic, and plexiglass, placing him among the designers who helped shape a more modern and industrial aesthetic in French decorative arts.

Biography

Jean-Boris Lacroix began his career in 1920 in the workshop of Paul Dumas. In 1924, he became artistic director of the Vionnet fashion house, a position he held until 1937. During this period, he also designed furniture and lighting, often combining glass and metal in designs defined by strict lines, smooth surfaces, and a controlled sense of proportion.

From the late 1920s, Lacroix exhibited lighting and graphic works at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs and the Salon d’Automne. His early designs reflected the transition from Art Deco toward a more modernist vocabulary, where ornament was reduced in favour of geometric construction, material contrast, and functional clarity.

After the Second World War, Lacroix joined the Union des Artistes Modernes in 1945, placing him within one of the most important French modernist design movements. His work during the postwar period continued to explore new materials and production possibilities, including the use of acrylic and plexiglass in lighting design. These materials allowed him to create lamps with a lighter, more technical expression, suited to the changing interiors of the period.

Lacroix collaborated with several important French lighting producers and publishers, including Robert Caillat, Robert Mathieu, and Jacques Biny. These collaborations resulted in lighting designs that combined French refinement with modern production methods, often using clean geometric forms, lacquered metal, brass, glass, and synthetic materials.