Knoll Designer Bios

Alexander Girard

b. New York
1907-1993

Widely considered one of the greatest colorists and textile designers of the 20th century, Alexander “Sandro” Girard took inspiration from traditional folk art and infused color, whimsy, and humor. He ingeniously mixed color and imagery to create exciting, fresh designs that explored and challenged the interaction of high and low art forms.

Before becoming the textiles director at Herman Miller, Girard designed the Model 108 table for Knoll, a distinctive sofa table introduced in 1948. Girard was knighted by Queen Margrethe of Denmark in 1966.

In 2004, Girard was the subject of a major retrospective at The Cooper Hewitt, National Design Museum, confirming his place in the pantheon of great mid-century designers. Two years later Knoll reintroduced the Model 108 as part of the KnollStudio collection.