From 1920-25, she trained on a scholarship at L'Ecole de l'Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs. Upon completing her education, she presented herself to Le Corbusier and asked him for a job. "We don't embroider cushions here", he responded. The architect changed his mind after viewing Perriand's rooftop bar at the Salon D'Automne, a sleek composition in aluminum, steel and glass, and subsequently offered her a position in his studio as a furniture designer.

Before employing Perriand, Corbusier had replied upon simple, ready-made furniture to realize the interiors of his buildings and exhibition installations. Inspired by Corbusier's machine age aesthetic, and utilitarian objects such as automobiles and bicycles, she designed most of the now iconic pieces of furniture to emerge from the Corbusier office, including LC 1 chair (1928), the LC4 chaise longue (1928) in which she reclines in a famous photograph, and the LC 7 armchair (1929). Many of her pieces have been reissued in recent years by Cassina. Page 2 >