The artist’s hand and the romance of faraway places are shaping the latest collections from today’s top textile houses.
Old World Meets New
Zoffany
“Storytelling has always been important to Zoffany because it was established as an interior restoration brand,” says lead designer Peter Gomez, explaining that the company, founded in 1980, has deep roots in the refurbishment of English country houses like Temple Newsam, where Zoffany reproduced original wallpapers, ultimately sparking its first collection.
Indienne, the latest release from the storied brand, includes fabrics and wallpapers featuring patterns inspired by archival documents, as well as reworkings of popular designs. “The patterns are designed to be layered upon one another for an elegantly comfortable look,” Gomez reveals. Pattern names hint at origin stories, like Sanganeri (above), a hand-blocked floral named afer the town in India where printing blocks have been hand-carved for centuries. Joining such historical motifs are contemporary expressions created by artists like Charlie Calder-Potts, who designed a mural for the collection. “Our studio incorporates a wide range of craftsmanship,” Gomez continues. “Modern techniques are treated with the same care as traditional methods, like in our Mughal Menagerie wallpaper, which uses digital technology and traditional printing techniques.” Adding, “experimenting with process early in the design sparks fresh creative directions and lets designs evolve in harmony with the chosen technique.”
A Traveler’s Spirit
Pierre Frey
“I wanted to do something that hadn’t been done before,” says Patrick Frey of his new Deserts collection for Pierre Frey, the family business founded by his father in 1935. “Deserts, whether in Africa or Asia, are not all the same—they’re not just sand, there are animals and people, and the colors are different—so we used our imaginations to play with reality, not copy it,” he explains. Over the course of a year, Frey and his artisans gathered enough ideas to ensure a mix of wovens in various prints, colors and textures, “but it’s all a test until the final selection, when I cut half and only keep the best,” he says, noting that Deserts encompasses fabrics, wallpapers and rugs. A few of his favorites include Ammos, a palm tree-patterned wallpaper printed on straw (“If you want something quiet in a corridor, this is it,” he says), and L’arbre Du Voyageur (above right). “It’s said that early travelers in the desert would cut the tree’s stalks and drink the water found inside,” he explains, adding that he liked the pattern so much that it’s also available as a fabric and wallpaper. “Storytelling helps explain our choices, but the idea was to build a collection that makes people dream.”
Exploring History
Cowtan & Tout
When your archive comprises some 35,000 documents, inspiration can come from the smallest of details. Such was the case for Cowtan & Tout’s Design Director, Catherine Croner, when her team set out to craft the brand’s 2025 collection. (Cowtan & Tout was founded in America in 1924 and purchased by the Colefax Group in London during the 1980s.) “An old fragment may have a yarn with a unique texture that we want to recreate, or a historic wallpaper might have an exciting color combination,” she explains. To contemporize palettes, stylists paint croquis, or color studies, that are pinned to the studio’s walls for discussion. “It’s an ongoing exercise of editing and re-envisioning, but ultimately this collection has a narrative influenced by the archetypal figure of the world traveler, collector and connoisseur,” Croner adds. Highlights of the new assortment include Aubury (above left), a vining floral handprinted with 19th-century wood blocks, and a revisit to their 18th-century-inspired Botanique Spectaculaire (above right), now updated on a linen ground. Jahan (above middle), an elephant design rooted in Mughal aesthetics is new too, and “lends theatricality to any room,” says Croner. “We’re always looking at old ways of making fabrics that have endured, but also new technologies, like weaving our new épinglé velvets on modern jacquard looms. It’s about finding the best methods to bring each design to life.”
