On April 28, 1925, the International exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts opened in Paris. This sample was an event of significant importance in the evolution of art, architecture and design of the time. At the same time, it aroused great interest both for the works presented and for their impact, contributing to the diffusion of various stylistic currents.

In Spain it was the most published event in architectural magazines between the wars, coinciding with a change in the approach of these publications towards interior design and furniture.

After World War II and up to the present day, the exhibition has continued to attract interest. The abundant bibliography available sample its value as a turning point in the aesthetic conception of the time, deliberately seeking to distance itself from historicism and to emphasize originality and novelty in artistic and industrial creations.

The Paris exhibition generated great expectation due to its lengthy gestation process. In 1911, René Guilleré, president of the Société des Artistes Décorateurs, proposed to organize an international event that would reaffirm French supremacy in design, especially in the face of German skill .

C in 1912, its celebration, scheduled for 1915, was delayed by World War I and did not materialize until 1925. During this time, the exhibition was widely advertised in the press and specialized magazines, creating the opportunity to produce a new style. The idea of innovation was reflected in the instructions of the call for entries, which required unpublished works and expressly excluded any reproduction of historical styles. The fourth article established that only works of "new inspiration and real originality" would be admitted, prohibiting copies and imitations of the past.

This directive, while seeking to foster a new aesthetic language in keeping with social and technological changes, sparked a discussion regarding the interpretation of "modern". Since its task was to reject any work that was not so considered, the lack of clear criteria led to arbitrary decisions.

The exhibition became a scene of tension between the currents that embraced the radical avant-garde and those that, without renouncing modernity, maintained certain links with stylized tradition.

For the most conservative architects and designers, the sample represented the consolidation of a style that had been developed since the beginning of the 20th century and that reached its maturity in this event.

Thus, he was fundamental in the international diffusion of the "modern style" or "1925 style". In 1966, on the occasion of the retrospective exhibition Les Années 25 held at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, this style would end up being called art deco.

Most of the French and other European pavilions interpreted modernity as an expression of the style of the time, often fused with local elements. For example, the Spanish pavilion, designed by Pascual Bravo, had a clear regionalist inspiration with an Andalusian character.

Although the exhibition excluded historical styles, popular art, along with other varied references (exotic cultures, cubism, French neoclassicism or the machine, among others), was incorporated in many projects. This demonstrated the diversity of approaches within Art Deco, which was dominated by low-relief decoration with geometric motifs.

On the other hand, the avant-gardists considered that the sample reinforced a decorative approach far removed from true modernity. The Belgian architect Auguste Perret affirmed that authentic art did not require decoration. For his part, the Swiss architect Le Corbusier, in his book L'Art décoratif d'aujourd'huicriticized the notion of a "modern decorative art", considering that true modernity should not include ornamentation -something that the Austrian Adolf Loos had already advanced years before-.

Precisely, the pavilion designed by Le Corbusier for L'Esprit Nouveau was a clear confrontation with the predominant art deco style of the exhibition, as was the Soviet pavilion by Konstantin Melnikov or the workers' dining room by Aleksandr Rodchenko. These works shocked the public and critics by presenting a radically different modernity.

One hundred years after its inauguration, the Paris Decorative Arts exhibition remains a fundamental milestone in the history of design. Its impact transcended the purely aesthetic, consolidating Art Deco as the last great decorative style of the century and serving as a stage for the emergence of the modern movement, whose rationalist ideas would transform the design of the future. Later examples were, on the one hand, the Chrysler Building, the Empire State Building or the chairs of Jacques Émile Ruhlmann; and, on the other, the Ville Savoye, the Bauhaus building in Dessau or the furniture of Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand.

The coexistence of these two visions at the sample highlighted acore topic discussion core topic that still resonates today: the balance between tradition and innovation in design. Beyond its role in defining styles, the exhibition raised essential questions about the relationship between art and industry, the function of ornament and the need to connect design with social demands. These tensions are still valid today, where the challenges of combining creativity and industrial production persist.

Thus, the 1925 exhibition was not only a showcase for the aesthetic change of its time, but a turning point whose lessons continue to inspire contemporary design . Its bequest invites us to reflect on the nature of modernity and its evolution over time.

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