For three decades, French interior designer Christian Liaigre embodied the essence of Parisian chic. Rare woods, lush lacquers, the finest fabrics around; his was an elegance of minimal gesture and refined sculptural forms. Fashionable clients with widely varying aesthetics – from Karl Lagerfeld to Calvin Klein to Marc Jacobs – all commissioned him to design their homes.

When he retired earlier this year, exactly 30 years after he opened his first showroom in Saint Germain, Liaigre left the field wide open to two of his acolytes: Tristan Auer, 48, and India Mahdavi, 55.