By Marianne, BTS Arts Appliqués, 1^e année EVEC (Expression Visuelle Espace de Communication) - Lycée des Arènes, Toulouse. 

The word Art Deco appeared in the 60s, during this Pop Art period, to refer to the style which triumphed in the international exhibition of decorative arts and industrial modernism in Paris in 1925.

In fact, this reaction against Art Nouveau appeared in 1960 in France, and even earlier in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Austria The forms of decorative arts were focused on simple light, right angles, and shapes inspired by Cubism in painting and architecture.

There were two are very different trends : a traditional one for a rich élite, and a modern and functional tendency with the beginning of design aimed at the industrial production for mass consumption. For example, Shangai had a distinct Art Deco style. The buildings underneath exemplify the common art-deco motifs, zigzags, porthole windows, stylized floral and animal designs compounded with Chinese elements such as clouds, mountains over waves, ancient coins, Taoist octagrams. Today, there are attempts to save this architecture.