Zadig&Voltaire Founder Thierry Gillier Asks $49 Million for St. Barts Home

On the Caribbean island of St. Barts, the sun can sometimes be too strong—even at sunset, said Thierry Gillier, founder of the French fashion house Zadig&Voltaire. 

“People think that sunset is great, but no,” said Gillier, a Paris resident who spends a few weeks a year on St. Barts. “Sunset here is too hot.” 

To provide protection from those rays, Gillier put a cantilevered roofline on the home he recently finished building on the island. The roof extends out about 6.5 feet from the house for a look architect Lorena Gabaldon, who designed the estate, likened to a wide-brimmed hat. 

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Now ready to take on another house project, Gillier is listing the newly completed property for about 45 million euro, equivalent to $49.05 million, he said. 

Known as Manoir Voltaire, the roughly 1-acre property with ocean views is located in Marigot, an affluent area on the northeast side of the island, said Kevin Barrallon of SBRE, one of the listing agents. Gillier purchased the land for an undisclosed sum in 2015. 

The main house is about 3,830 square feet with six bedrooms, including a bunk room and staff quarters, said Barrallon. A roughly 1,930-square-foot guesthouse has three bedrooms. Each villa has its own pool. 

Inside the home, there is a water feature with a waterfall and swings suspended from the ceiling. The home has concrete walls and Travertine marble flooring imported from Italy, Gillier said. Shutters and latticework were made with wood from West Africa. The property is energy independent, and runs off 124 solar panels and 72 batteries, he said. 

The project took eight years to complete, during which time Gillier bought a different home nearby, he said. He never moved into Manoir Voltaire, though he has spent the night, he said, and a friend is currently staying there. “You have to make sure it works,” he said. 

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Gillier said he is looking forward to tackling another home. “I love to do new projects,” he said. 

Known for edgy designs, Zadig&Voltaire was founded in Paris in 1997. Until recently, Gillier’s ex-wife Cecilia Bönström was the company’s artistic director. Gillier also owns the Parisian boutique hotel Château Voltaire. 

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Long a playground for the ultrawealthy, St. Barts has a robust real-estate market, Barrallon said. Last year, a roughly 130-acre estate once owned by David Rockefeller sold for around $136 million, setting a record for the island. Recently, officials have enacted rules limiting the development of large villas like Gillier’s, which has driven up prices, Barrallon said. “You can’t build this kind of house anymore,” he said. 

Barrallon is marketing the property with Rick Moeser of Douglas Elliman Real Estate and Xavier Pignet of Barnes Saint-Barth. 

Write to E.B. Solomont at eb.solomont@wsj.com