Born in New York City and raised in Florence, Italy, Girard was educated in Europe as an architect. He began practicing architecture and interior design in the late 1920s. A career breakthrough came in 1949, when he designed the Detroit Institute of Art's "For Modern Living," a significant exhibition promoting postwar modernism.

Alexander Girard became Herman Miller's director of design for its textile division in 1952, a time when fabrics were purely functional and devoid of decoration. Girard felt that color was just what fabrics needed, and Herman Miller gave him the freedom to express himself. With primary colors, concise geometric patterns, and a touch of humor, he injected joy and spontaneity into fabrics, making them a vibran...