What Élitis is known for
A textile and wallpaper house founded in Toulouse in 1988 by Patrice Marraud des Grottes, named after Greek poet Odysseas Elytis; known for surface effects imitating crocodile skin, zebra hide or silk, still run with his sisters and children.
Élitis was founded in Toulouse in 1988 by Patrice Marraud des Grottes as a publisher of high-end wallpapers and fabrics. The brand takes its name from the Greek Nobel Prize-winning poet Odysseas Elytis, a leading figure of Greek surrealism, reflecting the founder's stated ambition to combine the dreamlike, irrational dimension of Elytis's poetry with the technical certainty of industrial innovation -- captured in Marraud des Grottes's own description of the company's guiding idea that beauty can transform how spaces are experienced. Élitis built its reputation on material effects: trompe-l'oeil surfaces reproducing crocodile skin or zebra hide, and prints faithfully imitating the texture of silk, spanning mineral, vegetal, animal and textile-inspired finishes. Despite growing into a company with international distribution, Élitis has kept a family structure at its core, with the founder's sisters and, more recently, his three children involved in the business alongside him. The company remains headquartered in Toulouse, where it continues to design and edit its wallcovering and textile collections for the interior-design trade.
How ORBIS reads this city
Best for — Toulouse wallcoverings and fabrics with maximal texture
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