D. Porthault chairman becomes Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur

-- Home Textiles Today, 12/10/2009 2:38:00 PM

Washington, D.C. – D. Porthault chairman Joan Carl this week became a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, one of the highest levels of recognition granted by the government of France.

The D.C. resident was designated to receive the honor by a decree signed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy in recognition for her service and commitment to France. Pierre Vimont, France’s ambassador to the United States, presented the award during a ceremony held at the French Residence here.

“The Legion of Honor was created by Napoleon in 1802 to acknowledge services rendered to France by persons of great merit,” Vimont explained.

Carl said, “The culture, camaraderie, beauty, and elegance of France are unmatched anywhere in the world.”

Carl has been the controlling shareholder of the French home textiles house and vice chairman of the Supervisory Board of D. Porthault since 2005. Since then, the company has opened a new flagship store on Avenue Montaigne in Paris and a new boutique on Park Avenue in New York City. In 2008, D. Porthault opened a luxury linens boutique at Bergdorf Goodman, and plans are now underway for a new store in the Mayfair neighborhood of London.

Carl and her husband, Bernard Carl, have also launched a long-term project to restore the château de Champigny and its 200-acre walled grounds in Champigny-sur-Veude, in France’s Loire Valley.