Sweater

Creative Director Maegan Fee has always been inspired by textiles and knitted constructions so she wanted to create a collection that looked like a knit but is actually woven natural wool. In the Sweater line, there are two woven patterns and one tufted.  I’m a huge fan of things that look like sweaters or cable knit; I think it’s psychological since I’m allergic to wool. But, don’t they look cozy?

 
Veledo

Perhaps their most revolutionary collection, Veledo is made of recycled leather. It’s the company’s first hard-surface flooring and the leather comes from sources such as shoe heels and briefcases from Italian factories. There are four embossed styles, including Croco and Angus, which come in a variety of colors.

 
Pure

Pure is the most outwardly environmentally-friendly, though all their products are. Pure is made from undyed wools and organic jute backing. Available in five colors, it’s 100% biodegradable and compostable, and contains no VOCs.

 
Merida also relaunched Broadway—their first product—a 100% sisal diamond pattern woven on a Jacquard loom.

 
While there I had a sneak peek at a collection from Barclay Butera Lifestyle. It just launched officially last week at High Point. The natural fiber woven rugs are inspired by men’s haberdashery and will be available in the colors for which Barclay’s best known – blues, chocolates, and neutrals.  Stay tuned for a future issue where there will be more on the collection.

I spent some time with Barclay and Merida creative director Maegan Fee. Can you tell which one of us didn’t spend much time outside this summer?

“Exhibition 1935-1955: Inspiration & Realism of Fabrics” celebrates the whimsy of Pierre Frey’s early years and brings to New York a curated collection of textiles, drawings, and paintings usually held in their Parisian archives. The beautiful patterns are lively, and feel as fresh now as ever.

Author, textile historian, and Pierre Frey archivist Sophie Rouart was on hand to present the history and inspiration as she highlighted the designs featured in the exhibit.

The company began in 1935 with founder Pierre Frey, partner Jean Chatanay, and only 2 looms, though he bought out Chatanay the following year. During the WWII period, Pierre was classified as an artisan/artist and was granted special permission to continue buying and selling fabrics. Though the fabrics are usually cotton, linen, or wool, the company developed a plastic-cotton to make use of the only materials that were available at the time. Post-war, the company began exporting to the US, UK, and other countries in continental Europe.

Pierre Frey was not a designer, but was the “eye,” identifying talent, and the designers he worked with were the “hands.” Freelance designers such as Chatanay, Geneviève Prou (who charmed Pierre with her drawings and self—she became his wife, and mother of current president Patrick Frey), Janine Janet, Irène Rohr, and Jean-Denis Malclès lent their considerable talent in creating dozens of patterns that fell into four themes: Between Sea and Sky, Nature, Decorative Fantasies, and Myths and Reveries.

Between Sea and Sky: heaven and sea motifs, inspired partially by the rising popularity of beach vacations.

Nature: the surrounding flora and fauna. One pattern in the archive, Fouillis de Fleur, was turned into a dress worn by Brigitte Bardot.

Decorative Fantasies: the alternative to figurative designs.

Myths and Reveries: influenced by 1940s surrealism, these patterns were fanciful and looked to literature and mythology to transcend reality. See the unicorns on the right?

Two more I loved:

close-up detail with the designer’s notes in pencil (gouache on paper)

 
There are many more wonderful examples, so if you are going to be in New York, I encourage you to go see the whole collection in person. The exhibit is open to the public at their showroom in the Decoration & Design Building and runs through July 30.

That’s what so great about how the Old World embraces color. They have no problem upholstering an 18th-century French settee in an up-to-the-minute fuchsia or grape.

New "Kavana" from Spanish fabric house, Alhambra

The color you just saw was all over Paris showrooms and booths at Maison. What’s interesting to me is that such a bold hue is too often mistaken as brash in America. Quick, whistle for the design police. Good taste has been violated and all that.

I think it’s time Americans started flexing our color muscles. Beige can be beautiful, but there’s so much more out there awaiting us.

This warm bright citrine, also from Alhambra, appeared in various shades and tones across Paris showrooms:

Look for wonderful, evocative colors from Manuel Canovas—”absinthe” and “mandarine” speak for themselves, while “petale” is a pink-tinged lavender and “pensee” is a lavender with more of a purple-plum cast. “Nattier” is Canovas’s new green-blue—the color of Angelina Jolie’s jade at last year’s Oscars.

New this season from Manuel Canovas Collection 2010