Presenting pathways to fresh frontiers, the value of creative collaboration across disciplines is widely applauded. Now more than ever, joining forces to pool resources, processes, experience and productivity from fashion to architecture and installation can empower designers to create the best outcome. These eight design textile collaborations are a testament to this increasing movement.
We’ve compiled some of our favourite design textile collaborations from across the industry, paying homage to hand-finished techniques, age-old traditions and sustainably-sourced fibres. Exploring the intersection where architecture, interiors, installation, fashion and product design meet textile design; we’ve made note of the successful partnerships that cross boundaries to push creativity and highlight the role that craft can bring to driving innovation.
This is best summed up by one of our favourite design heavyweights, Charles Eames: “Any time one or more things are consciously put together in a way that they can accomplish something better than they could have accomplished individually, this is an act of design,” he said.
Budge Over Dover by YSG
Faye Toogood X cc-tapis
The ‘Doodles’ collection by London-based multidisciplinary Faye Toogood for cc-tapis is a collection of six handwoven rugs that perfectly capture Toogood’s free-thinking, painterly and abstract aesthetic. A textile series which looks just as good on the wall as it does on the floor, Doodles reveals Toogood’s exploration of new styles and techniques through the ‘off-cuts and appliquéd of cords to create collage styled assemblages’.
Raf Simons X Kvadrat
As part of an ongoing (and hugely successful) collaboration with Danish textile trailblazer Kvadrat, fashion designer Raf Simons has created two new upholstery fabrics; Helia and Silas. Simons aimed to create unusual textures from natural materials including linen, wool and viscose all the while delivering his signature blend of colours and materials to create an evolving collection.
Begüm Cana Özgür X Nanimarquina
In 2014 young Turkish designer Begüm Cana Özgür opened her Istanbul based studio, where the ‘cultural richness of the land’ has provided a constant source of inspiration to her work, including a hands-on approach to art and ancient craft practices. Her Shade Collection for Nanimarquina is inspired by magical moments in nature where colours melt and speak for themselves. An experimental collaboration, Cana often plays with common materials and existing techniques to fully understand their potential in order to develop new contemporary expressions.
John Pawson X Tekla
The John Pawson Merino Blanket for Tekla is made in Europe from 100% Super-fine Merino. In collaboration with British architectural designer John Pawson, whose work is known for its clean and minimalist aesthetic, Tekla have developed a series of four blankets all inspired by Pawson’s home in the Oxfordshire countryside. Our pick is the Trace 01 with its creamy apricot hue and tasselled edge.
Patricia Urquiola X cc-tapis
Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola brings her contemporary creativity to Milan-based rug manufacturers cc-tapis with her series of hand-knotted rugs. The Slinkie Collection is a design story revolving around colour; ‘A succession of chromatic evolutions developed in a composite universe of organic shapes’. Made by hand in Nepal from cotton and Himalayan wool, this is a collection that aims to transform the intangible idea of shade and hue into a finely produced, sophisticated textile.
The Bauhaus Project X Designtex
New York-based Designtex has released a collection of colourful, geometric textiles inspired by artwork Gunta Stölzl and Annie Albers, created during their education at Bauhaus in the 1920s. The Bauhaus Project series comprises eight upholstery textiles and eight digitally printed wall coverings which are all cast on the designs of Stölzl and Albers who are both touted as the original masters of composition.
Raw-Edges X GAN
Israeli designers Shay Alkalay and Yael Mer met at London’s Royal College of Art and established their design studio Raw-Edges shortly after. Dedicated to creating furniture, installations and products that reveal a childlike sense of wonder and playfulness, their Backstitch rug collection for GAN is no exception. They have crafted three rugs exploring the reverse side of traditional embroidery, each of which reveals the beauty of the seemingly mundane and sometimes messy reverse of embroidery.
Olsen + Ormandy X Designer Rugs
Saving one of the best for last, we’re especially excited to unveil the new ‘Olsen + Ormandy’ collection in collaboration with Designer Rugs. The creative duo behind Australian-based Dinosaur Designs; Louise Olsen and Stephen Ormandy bring their own inspiration to this unique six-rug series. Olsen reflects on the infinite possibilities in nature while Ormandy explores the subconscious mind through tonal balance and contrast.
