Jean Royère was already 29 when he decided to quit his job and take up design. He began his second career in Paris’ cabinetmaking workshops, before receiving his first big commission, designing a new layout for the Brasserie Carlton on the Champs Elysées in 1934. From then his luxurious style caught the eye of the world’s elite, and he spent the rest of his career designing couture furniture and spaces for the likes of King Hussein of Jordan and the Shah of Iran. Unlike the modernists who came before him, the self-taught designer offered a more sensuous approach to design. He reveled in color, working with rich jewel tones, precious materials, velvets, brass, and satin, with shape and material as his only ornamentation.