The mysterious man in a trenchcoat and fedora suggesting ineffable cool was designed by French artist and illustrator Marcel-Jacques Hemjic; he appeared in several of the posters for the French menswear clothing store Bayard, as well as on the cover of some of its catalogues during the 1930s. Bayard was founded in 1925 near Lyon and swiftly introduced a series of elegant Art Deco publicity campaigns. Its name refers to Chevalier Bayard (Knight Bayard), a 16th-century French military hero whose form appears in the background of this and other posters promoting the company. Hemjic worked as a fashion illustrator for the great French designer Paul Poiret and exhibited at the Salon des Arts Décoratifs. He also produced illustrations for magazines like Femina, Le Rire, Le Sourire, and La Baïonette, and designed posters and advertisements for companies like Lancel and Le Bon Marché.