After training at the Kunstgewerbschule Zürich and the Swiss Textile College, Erich Biehle (b. 1941) designed a number of fabrics for Paris fashion houses such as Yves Saint Laurent, Dior, and Balenciaga. In 1976, he began a long-term collaboration with Hubert de Givenchy. Biehle paints his motifs freehand on unsized paper, often using a wax technique similar to batik. In 2014, he was awarded the Grand Prix of Design by the Swiss Confederation.