How Art Deco became this year’s hottest home trend

In 2025, we’re going back in time 100 years, to be precise, says Rachel Loos, who explores the origins of the aesthetic and how it’s roared back into fashion... with a fresh twist

- Rachel Loos

It was a design exhibition in Paris in 1925 – the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes – that introduced Art Deco to the world, though the style had first emerged in Paris around 1910. Its hallmarks – geometric shapes, luxe materials, and rich jewel colours – defined an iconic look that would usher in a new era for interiors and be in fashion for years after the exhibition had ended.

Looking forward after the destruction caused by the First World War, the exhibition organisers stipulated that historic designs would not be permitted. The result was a collection of strikingly modern pavilions showcasing highly decorative but streamlined motifs, including chevron sunbursts, zigzags, stepped designs, and stylised floral elements.

Inside, beautiful burr woods were fashioned into stylish cabinets, chandeliers in angular shapes teamed glass with gleaming metallics, and richly coloured fabrics glowed against dark woods, evoking a sense of elegance and glamour.

During its six months, the exhibition attracted around 16 million visitors and generated worldwide demand for Art Deco – an abbreviation of arts décoratifs, or decorative arts – which continued throughout the following decades, and even into the next century.