Pierre Frey’s Braquenié Unveiled an Enchanting New Collection in a Normandy Castle
On the eve of its 200th anniversary, the storied Pierre Frey family is launching the Braquenié Anniversaire 1823–2023 collection, a curated assortment of upholstery, wallcoverings, and rug designs selected from their extensive archives. The French brand is celebrating in classic Frey style: by showcasing it all in a castle.
It goes without saying that with age comes wisdom, and this enchanting Braquenié unveiling in the Château de Louÿe in Normandy is exquisite proof. Set against the château’s illustrious Napoleonic rooms, the brand’s iconic floral and toile du Jouy prints are reinvigorated in new colorways that feel modern in spite of their age, and the same exuberant spirit is evident in the flooring patterns, including a drool-worthy flame-stitch in blue green.
Braquenié, now owned by Pierre Frey, was founded in 1824 by Pierre Antoine Demy and his wife. Originating as a Parisian rug boutique specializing in luxury carpets, the Demys partnered with the Braquenié brothers nearly two decades later, eventually buying their own workshop in Aubusson, in central France. After receiving an upholstery order from Napoleon III himself, Braquenié was solidified as the go-to for the Second Empire aristocracy and continued producing hand-woven rugs and printed cottons and silks under the ownership of the original family until 1991, when the eponymous house was purchased by Pierre Frey.
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The brand’s presence in the château, which was built in 1180 and gained its fame amid the Empire period under Jean-Marie D’Arjuzon, boasts a shared history in French design—a history that Braquenié enthusiasts will be happy to learn has been reinvigorated. The brand’s iconic prints like the Indian-inspired tree of life motif, Le Grand Genois, and floral Calicut are now available as wallcoverings, so paper backing those fabrics will no longer be needed. In fact, the Freys went so far as to also introduce a few panoramic wallpapers, including one called Zarand, which is an archival reproduction of a 19th-century Kalemkar on top of the henna-looking print Zarand Cordonne.
Pierre Frey also partnered with fellow French maison porcelain manufacturer Bernardaud to create a table service collection called Grand Corail. The playful set, which shows exotic animals and Indian florals, is sure to wow dinner guests.
While both the château and the fabric house date back decades, the updated Braquenié furnishings feel very of the moment, a testament to the enduring quality of good taste, excellence, and sheer know-how. If walls and fabrics could talk, we have no doubt they would give their stamp of approval. The château’s Pierre Frey additions will remain open to visitors for the foreseeable future.
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