François Frossard
François Frossard (born 1964) is an international architect and interior designer. Born in Megeve, France to hotel manager parents, Frosssard is the leader of the New Romantic Design Movement. Educated in Paris at the Ecole Boulle, Frossard's beginnings as an industrial designer for furniture designer Lee Weitzman transformed him into one of the most [...] edge interior designers in the country.
Earlier works
Frossard's early experience in furniture construction and carpentry led him to further his education in Geneva, Switzerland, where he studied engineering and construction management. From there, he landed at the Ecole Boulle of design in Paris.
Following his career with Weitzman, Frossard moved to Chicago where he was the Head of Design and Production for designer Jordan Mozer. His work there was awarded twice by The Chicago Athenaeum Honor Awards and recognized by leaders in the hospitality industry. Among them, the Bellagio in Las Vegas, for whom Frossard designed their race and sports book lounge, the Cirque du Soleil retail store, as well as The Cheesecake Factory and DisneyQuest. In 1993, Frossard received two awards from The Chicago Athenaeum Honor Award for two of his furniture designs.
Frossard's signature style infused with his penchant for bold drama led him to Miami, where in 1998 he opened his eponymous design firm, FFD, whose clients ranged from flashy, splashy restaurants in Chicago to Miami's inimitable nightclubs starting in 2002 with nightclub group The Opium Group. As lead designer for The Opium Group, Frossard unveiled Prive, the first in a series of uber chic venues and one which traded the bawdier atmosphere of neighboring boites in favor of a minimal, simple white-on-white elegance that was modern, yet tasteful. This mod-minimalism sparked a frenzy in the industry that continued with Frossard's tweaking of Opium, a Miami Beach nightlife landmark.
More recent works
By 2007, Frossard's designs were featured everywhere from People and Cosmopolitan to the Chicago Tribune and The New York Times. His ever evolving signature style can also be seen in The Opium Group's Mansion, an opulent, celeb-studded chandelier lit club with ironic touches including a fully functional library with private bar, drawing rooms, bedrooms and a VIP area reputed to be the largest in the world.
From Mansion, Frossard moved on to The Opium Group's swan song, SET, a 10,000 square foot space in which he custom designed each piece of furniture and helped in creating the high tech lighting and video systems. SET's Miami meets Europe vibe was groundbreaking with its use of intricate plasma and plexiglass screens as well as the first Funktion-One sound system in the united States. Frossard's inspiration for SET, he says, was a "1940s Hollywood mansion." And its celebrated A-list clientele drove that comparison home to reality. Other heralded projects created under The Opium Group brand included Prive Las Vegas at The Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, Mansion New York and Louis Bar-Lounge at The Gansevoort South which earned a spot on Conde Nast Traveler’s regaled “Hot List.”
Other architecturally relevant projects across the hospitality arena include Beso Restaurant in Los Angeles, Rokbar Las Vegas, Arkadia Nightclub at the famed Fontainebleau Resort, Josephine Nightclub in Washington DC, ORO Nightclub in Punta Cana, and the redesign of Miami culinary landmark, The Forge.
A collection of current projects in the works is a revamp of another Miami landmark—Amnesia nightclub, to be renamed as STORY, housed in the space formerly known as Frossard’s previous project—Opium and Prive. At the helm of STORY is the nightlife powerhouse team behind famed LIV Nightclub, and the space is receiving much buzz for a multimillion dollar revamp featuring futuristic audio visual and a much anticipated design schematic with Frossard taking the lead.
Beyond nightclubs, Frossard is also currently working in his largest undertaking to date—the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun, Mexico, in which he not only designing the hotel, but also the nightclub Noir, Skybar Lounge, and Momo No Hana Japanese restaurant, all on property.
Major works
- Transit Nightclub (1999), Chicago
- Mirai Sushi Restaurant and Lounge (2000), Chicago
- Prive Nightclub (2002), Miami Beach
- Mansion Nightclub (2004), Miami Beach
- Cabaret Lounge (2005), Chicago
- SET Nightclub (2007), Miami Beach
- Beso Restaurant (2007), Los Angeles
- Prive Nightclub (2008), Las Vegas
- Rokbar N.Y N.Y Hotel (2008), Las Vegas
- Louis Nightclub and Lounge (2008), Miami Beach
- Cameo (2009), Miami Beach
- Opium Seminole Hard rock (2009), Fort Lauderdale
- Spazio Nero (2010), Miami
- Butter Nightclub (2010), Charlotte, North Carolina
- The Forge (restaurant) (2010), Miami Beach
- Arkadia Nightclub and Lounge (2010), Miami Beach
- Covet Restaurant and Lounge (2010), New York
- XVI Lounge (2011), New York
- Opera Ultra Lounge (2011), Washington, D.C.
- Kane Restaurant (2011), Miami Beach
- Josephine Nightclub (2011), Washington, D.C
- Villa Mayfair Restaurant (2011), Miami
- Villa Azur (2012), Miami
- TIKL Restaurant (2012), Miami
- Label Nihgtlcub (2012), Charlotte
- Osso Restaurant (2012), Charlotte
- ORO Nightclub (2012), Punta Cana Dominican Republic
- Moon Palace Resort (2012), Cancun Mexico
- Amnesia Nightlcub (2012), Miami
- LIV (remodel) (2013), Miami Beach