VIVID SYDNEY
Vivid Sydney, a festival of light, music and ideas, starts this Thursday 27th May.
Best known for the amazing light show 'Lighting the Sails' at the Sydney Opera House, Vivid is a fantastic creative event for Sydneysiders and visitors alike. There is everything from creative focus groups, live performances, fire shows, food stalls and markets.
The event runs until Monday 21st June, and with such variety the Mokum studio will be penciling a couple of events into our diaries so we don't miss out. If you are in Sydney you may like to do the same.
2010 TRENDS
Clockwise from top: Textile View issue 88 p:161, Polka Dots styled by Kai Z Feng in 'Lula' Spring 2010, Dorit on her way to Proposte, Mokum's Bruges Lace -052 Frost, Textile View issue 88 p:123 - Blue Forecast , Mokum's Brocatelle and Etoille - 231 Chartruese.At Mokum we strive to offer the latest in design so it’s imperative that we are regularly exposed to international trends. Visiting Proposte is a great opportunity for us to research global trends and connect with the very best European mills. However the way in which trends influence our brand is quite different to other faster paced industries like fashion, where trends can change dramatically from season to season. We need to ensure the trend is not only appropriate for our customers homes but also has longevity. It isn’t every day we replace our curtains or recover a sofa so we want to get it right. We do make certain we still deliver the wow factor, particularly in fabrics suitable for cushions, which allow us to easily update the home. Of course for us as designers the statement items are often the most fun and challenging to work on. The exhibitors at Proposte are the crème de la crème so it isn’t surprising a number of trends were evident across their individual ranges. Here is a couple that we noted:
Colour Trends:
- Yellow green, like our designs ‘Etoile’ and 'Brocatelle' - Chartreuse or the beautiful multi purpose wool ‘Sateen’ – Mimosa.
- Dark Blue. We have seen indigo, ink blues and grey blues appearing in fashion for some time now so this was one we expected. It is a nice change from black!
- Grey based neutrals were shown across the fair, which isn’t particularly new for Australia and NZ – as this trend has been present for some time but I guess for European countries this was a change from more yellow based neutrals. I love the look of grey and dark blue together and judging by fashion I believe it’s a colour partnership we will see more and more in interiors. A good example of this colour combination is ‘Chatelet’ - Prussian Blue paired with ‘Coupole’ - Pewter or Quartz from Mokum’s latest collection Moderne.
- Metallic’s. Again metallic’s are not a new concept however we saw a textile woven from a true gold yarn which was something I certainly had never seen before. It was gorgeous and had real weight to it but I can’t see it being used in many domestic homes, that is unless you live in a palace!
- Digital Prints. The effects that can be created by digital prints now are extraordinary; we saw fabric printed to look identical to kilims. When laid on the floor you would swear you were walking on the real thing.
- Checks, Stripes and Polka Dots were everywhere! Mostly very traditional but some mills had applied the idea quite differently in big chunky chenille and lurex yarns.
- French Knots is an embroidery technique, and we saw entire designs done in multi coloured French knots.
- Soft Linens. There were so many beautiful soft linens both for drapery and upholstery exhibited at Proposte. Many had airo finishes which give the fabric a relaxed ‘used’ look. Walking through the streets of Como I noticed this trend was also mimicked in men’s suits and jackets. Italian men dress really well!
- Crochet and Lace. Last but not least we saw a number of stunning lace and crocheted draperies at Proposte, and lace was also translated into prints for upholsteries. Although call me bias, but I still believe one of the nicest lace constructions around is Mokum’s Bruges Lace.
PICTURE PERFECT
Top to bottom: Istanbul Turkey, stained glass windows in the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, hand painted detail at Topkapi Palace.
Lake Como, Italy
On Friday I am going to be sharing the trends we saw at Proposte (some new and expected, some not), but for now I would like to show you a few of the things which made me stop and take a picture whilst we were away. Dorit will tell you there was more than one or two of these moments. When she asked me to look after the photography I don’t think she realised quite how snappy happy I can be! Here are a couple of my favourites.
WHAT IS RAILROADING?
We are often asked to explain the textile term "railroading".
It simply means that the design has been sampled and displayed perpendicular to how it's woven. i.e. how it comes off the roll. For example our upholstery jacquard Khepresh is woven as per below:
It has been “railroaded” within our samples and in all marketing collateral to illustrate the direction we believe it should be upholstered. See below:
For drapery, only wide width designs (300 cm) can be railroaded, as it allows curtains to be made without any vertical joins. This is referred to as a “continuous” fabric.
A continuous curtain can be made from 300cm wide fabric when the window height is under approximately 280 cm in height. This allows an extra 20cm for the curtain header and the bottom hem, this is an approximate guide only as it depends on the style of curtain choosen.
For example Lexington has a selvedge to selvedge repeat woven as per below.
The correct direction to display Lexington as a curtain
It simply means that the design has been sampled and displayed perpendicular to how it's woven. i.e. how it comes off the roll. For example our upholstery jacquard Khepresh is woven as per below:
Upholstery jacquard Khepresh
Railroaded Khepresh design
A Khepresh cushion
For drapery, only wide width designs (300 cm) can be railroaded, as it allows curtains to be made without any vertical joins. This is referred to as a “continuous” fabric.
A continuous curtain can be made from 300cm wide fabric when the window height is under approximately 280 cm in height. This allows an extra 20cm for the curtain header and the bottom hem, this is an approximate guide only as it depends on the style of curtain choosen.
For example Lexington has a selvedge to selvedge repeat woven as per below.
Lexington selvedge to selvedge repeat
The correct direction to display Lexington as a curtain
A Lexington curtain
WHERE IN THE WORLD ARE WE?
Dorit and I had a brilliant trip away, it was both motivating and eye opening. Later in the week we will tell you more about it, as I'm sure we will be more articulate once the jet lag has worn off. For now above are some pictures from our travels. Can you guess where we are?
JEAN PATOU
Jean Patou's swimwear
Jean Patou was born in Normandy, France in 1880. Patou's family's business was in the textile industry. Patou worked with his uncle in Normandy, then moved to Paris in 1910 to be come a couturier.
In 1912 he opened a small dressmaking salon called "Maison Parry". His entire 1914 collection was purchased by a single American buyer. Patou's work was interrupted by World War 1. He reopened his couture house in 1919, he then became known for eradicating the flapper look by lengthening the skirt and introduced sportswear for women, and is considered the inventor of the knitted swimwear and the tennis skirt. He notably designed the daring sleeveless and thigh-high cut tennis wear for Suzanne Lenglen. Patou was known to move fashion towards the natural and comfortable.
Patou's clothes were marketed mostly to rich American women. When the stock market crashed it was his perfumes that kept him afloat.
The best known of Patou's perfumes is Joy (pictured above) a heavy floral scent, based on the most precious rose and jasmine, that remained the costliest perfume in the world, until the House of Patou introduced "1000" in 1970.
Joy remains the world’s second best-selling scent (the first is Chanel No.5). Joy was created by Henri Almeras for Patou at the height of the Great Depression, for Patou's former clients who could no longer afford his haute couture clothing line.
I was lucky enough to find Patou's Joy perfume display bottle (factice) at Rozelle markets on the weekend (pictured above), what an amazing find! The large deco bottle in my opinion is not just a display, it is also a work of art.
TRAVEL, TRENDS & TURKISH DELIGHTS
The Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey
Villa Erba in Cernobbio (Como), ItalyNext week Dorit and I are off to Turkey then Italy! Our first stop is Istanbul, to visit two mills we work closely with. It is an amazing opportunity for us to see their weaving facilities first hand and meet the people who help make our designs such as Patou, Firewheel Sheer, Hakama and Adita Embroidery a reality. If we are lucky enough to have spare time we hope to visit the Blue Mosque and perhaps go to the Grand Bazaar. This is both Dorit's and my first trip to Turkey, in fact it is my first ever trip to Europe! No doubt it will be extremely inspiring, and given that travel is a huge influence on our design process I am sure we will come back to Australia overflowing with ideas. I can already taste the Turkish Delights!
Next is Lake Como in Italy, to one of the leading international textile trade fairs of the year, ‘Proposte’. It will be a glimpse at the latest trends and textile developments by leading mills. Proposte is held at the picturesque Villa Erba in Cernobbio, pictured above. It will be spring in Italy, and although we have an incredibly busy schedule I can’t imagine a more beautiful location to spend the week working.
Next is Lake Como in Italy, to one of the leading international textile trade fairs of the year, ‘Proposte’. It will be a glimpse at the latest trends and textile developments by leading mills. Proposte is held at the picturesque Villa Erba in Cernobbio, pictured above. It will be spring in Italy, and although we have an incredibly busy schedule I can’t imagine a more beautiful location to spend the week working.
When we get back we will fill you in on our travel stories so keep posted.
MODERNE LAUNCH PHOTOS
Sydney Moderne launch overlooking Sydney Harbour
Sean McElroy, Mokum CEO, presenting at the Melbourne launch
Looking through sample books at the Brisbane launch
Adelaide Moderne launch
Tracey Guy, New Zealand Sales Manager, showing the collection at the Auckland launch
Our new Moderne collection has had an amazing response and we would like to share with you all the photos from our launch events.
Check them out here.
Thank you to everyone who attended!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
