Graduated in a school of applied arts, Leleu began his career in the painting atelier established by his father and then devoted entirely to interior decoration and production of furniture, manufactured under the supervision of his brother Marcel in the family own factory. His reputation rose from 1925 thanks to the success of the furniture that he designed for the French Ambassador's reception hall at the exhibition of Decorative Arts, and from that time Leleu was entrusted for the design of prestigious interiors, including those of large ships such as the " Ile de France " in 1931 and " Normandie " in 1935. His son Andre’ succeeded in the management of the Maison Leleu after the death of its founder in 1961, and continued the business until 1973. Leleu’s furnishings were inspired by the Regency and the Neoclassical style of the eighteenth century, which he reinterpreted and simplified in the decorative apparatus.