Herman Miller Textiles Division

In 1952, Alexander Girard was hired to head the fabric and textile division.^[9] Girard worked with George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames to form a design team that has influenced the fundamentals of design throughout the United States and the rest of the world. Girard initially established a fabric collection based on his architectural training.^[9] His first fabric line consisted of plain upholsteries and geometric drapery prints—stripes, circles, and triangles.^[9] He went on to create many more patterns and designs, largely inspired by folk art.^[9] He also worked with a textile mill, Telares Uruapan, which he discovered in central Mexico, to create a line of handwoven 100% cotton fabrics.^[9] Because of the excellent quality and array of colors available, he developed a range of colorful "mexidots"and "mexistripes" which he used in many of his projects including installation backing, ground for environmental enrichment panels and upholstery.^[9]

Girard also developed a furniture collection for Herman Miller in 1967 building on his designs for Braniff Airlines' lounge and office furniture which featured a low sight line and interior/exterior shell separate from the seat cushion to maximize varied upholstery.^[9] Originals from this collection are rare and have become highly collectible, since they were quite expensive at the time and were in production only for one year.^[9] In 1971, he developed 40 screen printed graphics on fabrics for Robert Propst's Action Office 2 System.^[9] These Environmental Enrichment panels add a touch of warmth, color, and design to the office environment.^[9]

T&O (Textiles and Objects) 1961

This Herman Miller showplace was a unique space filled with textiles and folk art pieces on Manhattan's East 53rd Street.^[9] Textiles and Objects was an innovation demonstrating textiles as an integral part of interior displays for both designers and the individual consumer.^[9] The showroom also featured folk art Girard collected from around the world.^[9] T&O closed in shortly after opening, due to insufficient marketing and a public was not quite ready to add such colorful and exotic objects to the typical 1950s, palette of their homes.^[9]

Braniff Airways and "The End of The Plain Plane"

In May 1965, Girard began his design work for Braniff International Airways re-branding campaign called "The End of the Plain Plane". This project gave Girard the opportunity to work with textiles, color, and graphics on a grand scale, redesigning everything from the sugar packets to the ticket counters to the color of the planes themselves. He used colors like light and dark blue, beige, ochre, orange, turquoise, and lemon yellow to make the planes recognizable from the ground. Italian couturier fashion designer Emilio Pucci designed attendant uniforms.^[10]

Girard also designed a line of furniture for Braniff's ticket offices and customer lounges. This furniture was also available to the public by Herman Miller in 1967, but was available for one year only.

Restaurants

In 1960, Girard designed every aspect of the La Fonda del Sol restaurant located in Manhattan's Time-Life building in a Latin American and contemporary theme/style, including menus, matchbooks, tableware and the ceramic tiles on the floors and walls. Girard created over eighty different sun motifs found throughout the restaurant.

As part of the commission, Charles and Ray Eames were brought in to design a fabric covered fiberglass chair and table, both with a new pedestal design. The chairs were similar to the plastic Eames chairs with a modification to the top silhouette of the fiberglass bucket.

Girard was also commissioned by Brody to design the L'Etoile Restaurant (1966) in the Sherry Netherlands Hotel, New York, a French restaurant with austere decor featuring a range of silver and greys featuring glass engraved with the names of French luminaries and daisy shaped tables in the bar.^[11] The Compound Restaurant (1967), in Santa Fe, New Mexico, is in a clean modern yet traditional New Mexican style with inlaid Mexicotton ceiling tiles and nichos featuring a mix of folk art and Girard's own designs.

Georg Jensen

In 1956, Just Lunning, president of Georg Jensen, commissioned Girard to design seven table settings for an exhibition on 5th Avenue in New York. Each setting was created around a vignette outlining the personalities and situations of the company at the particular table. He created place mats and dishes specific to the project.

John Deere

Girard was commissioned to create a mural for the John Deere Company, in the entrance to their administration building designed by Eero Saarinen near Moline, Illinois. The mural is one hundred eighty feet long and eight feet high, created entirely with three dimensional found objects.

The Girard Foundation

In 1962, Girard and his wife established the Girard Foundation in Santa Fe to manage their art collection that numbered over 100,000 pieces, including toys, dolls, icons, and other ethnic expressions. Girard's design work was heavily influenced by his passion for folk art. In 1978, Girard contributed his immense collection to the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States. The museum opened to the public in 1953, and has gained national and international recognition as home to the world's largest collection of folk art.

The Girard Wing houses the popular permanent exhibition, Multiple Visions: A Common Bond, which showcases folk art, popular art, toys and textiles from more than 100 nations. Opening in 1982, this unorthodox and delightful exhibition was designed and installed by Girard, and remains popular with the public.

Additional projects

• Radio cabinets, interiors for Detrola Corporation (1943)
• Exhibition design, "Design for Modern Use, Made in U.S.A." Museum of Modern Art (1950)
• Rieveschi residence, Grosse Pointe, Michigan (1951)
• Miller House, Columbus, Indiana (1953)
• Exhibition design, "Good Design" Home Furnishings Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art (1954)
• Exhibition design, "Textiles and Ornamental Arts of India" Museum of Modern Art (1954)
• "Day of the Dead" documentary film, collaboration with Charles Eames (1956)
• Nativity Exhibition, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, Atkins Museum, Kansas City, Missouri
• Penthouse apartment for Hallmark Cards, Hallmark Building, Kansas City (1962)
• Gregory residence, Wayzata, Minnesota (1963, with architect I.W. Colburn)
• Interior design of the campus of St. John's College, Santa Fe, New Mexico (1964)
• Indian government commissioned Girard and Eames to design the Memorial Exhibition for Nehru, Delhi, India (1965)
• "El Encanto de un Pueblo (The Magic of a People): International Exhibit for Hemisfair, San Antonio, Texas (1968)

Exhibition 'Alexander Girard: A Designer's Universe'

• Vitra Design Museum, Weilam Rhein, Germany 11 Mar 2016- 22 Jan 2017
• Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA Jan 17 2017- Oct 08 2017
• Hangaram Design Museum, Bloom field Hills, Seoul, South Korea, Dec 2017- Mar 2018
• Museum of Internationala Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA May 5, 2019- Oct 27 2019
• Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs, California, USA Nov 23 2019- Mar 01 2020
• Franz Mayer Museum, Mexico City Jun 17 2020- October 11, 2020