In 1927, when she was just twenty-four years old, Charlotte Perriand began a decade-long collaboration with Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret, at the famous design studios at 35, rue de Sèvres in Paris. Her presence in the studio is visible in all the furnishings designed with him and with Pierre Jeanneret: and so Charlotte Perriand became a cornerstone of the architect's projects, adding a distinct dimension of humanity to the often cold rationalism of Le Corbusier - click here for the Cassina i Maestri collection of their designs. After finishing her work with Le Corbusier, she worked with Jean Prouvé and left France to go to Japan when the Germans arrived to occupy Paris in 1940.

After the war, she continued to experiment with new methods and materials for mass production of furniture, and produced prestigious architectural work such as the League of Nations building, Air France's offices in London, Paris, and Tokyo and the ski resorts of Meribel and Les Arcs. Charlotte Perriand died at the age of 96 in Paris in 1999.

A major exhibition of Perriand's work is currently at the Design Museum from June until September 2021: click here to watch an introductory video.