Maria Pergay, a French designer of Moldovan origin, was born in 1930 in Bessarabia, Moldova. She has lived in Paris since the age of seven and later studied at the Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques, while also attending sculpting courses under the famed artist Ossip Zadkine. In the 1950s, she began her career as a window display designer for Durer, marking the start of her professional journey.

Thanks to a friend, Pergay had her first opportunity to showcase her work, exhibiting large wrought-iron birds in the windows of a shoemaker’s store. This early exposure led to significant recognition, both from the public and the design community. Soon after, luxury brands like Dior, Hugonet, and Hermès sought out Pergay to decorate their windows with intricate objects, incorporating materials such as seashells and semi-precious stones delicately placed on wrought iron.

As her career took off, Pergay opened her own shop in the Marais district of Paris, where she began by creating a unique collection of silver objects. Her encounter with Salvador Dalí further cemented her reputation as a talented artist, seamlessly blending classical elements with modernity. In a natural evolution of her design, Pergay turned to stainless steel, which she regarded as "as precious as the most valuable woods."

In 1968, she debuted her first collection, featuring the "Anneaux" chairs and the "Bancs Vague" at the Maison et Jardin gallery, directed by decorator Jean Dive. During the 1970s, Pierre Cardin became captivated by her work in stainless steel and became her patron, launching her international career. Her designs reached global markets, from Morocco and Russia to the United States and Saudi Arabia, where she worked on the royal family’s palace for nearly a decade.

Pergay’s fascination with stainless steel allowed her to soften rigid metal furniture, resulting in more fluid, sensual forms. In 2008, at Paris’s JGM Gallery, she showcased new works, including a plexiglass version of the "Rubban Chair," along with a series of pieces previously exhibited in New York in 2004. Her designs incorporate materials such as wood, bronze, and mother-of-pearl, blending them harmoniously with steel to create luxurious and dreamlike works. She continues to revisit her iconic pieces, reissuing them for Fendi Casa’s Icon collection.

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