In 1925 Paris hosted an ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes’ — that long, complicated name was later abbreviated to Art Deco, and used to name a whole era ever since.

If Art Nouveau was the floral, feminine curve, Art Deco was its reaction: masculine, symmetrical, radiating, industrial. Its inspiration came from three places — Ancient Egypt (Tutankhamun’s tomb had just been opened in 1922), Mayan pyramids, and the modern car and aeroplane.

It peaked around the Great Depression of 1929 — the poorer people grew, the more they craved luxury. The Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building, Radio City Music Hall, Tamara de Lempicka’s portraits, Erté’s fashion illustration, the gold-drenched parties of The Great Gatsby — all of it is Art Deco.

It later evolved into Streamline Moderne (for trains and refrigerators), and then into every ‘retro-luxe’ design we see today — classic Hollywood title sequences, brands’ gold-foil packaging, Wes Anderson’s symmetrical framing.