A sophisticated mix

Barbara Chandler5 April 2012
The Weekender

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Fabric collections this autumn have pushed aside old ideas of "co-ordination" that once seemed so advanced. A few years ago, a pattern book had perhaps a couple of prints, a stripe and a wallpaper smugly billed as "going together". And that was it.

Now the advanced designers are creating an explosion of potential. A medley of prints in different scales on varying backgrounds, as well as smooth plains in wool, cotton and linen with stripes, textured weaves, shiny damask, soft chenille and subtle sheers are all linked by carefully controlled colourways in an exhilarating mix of possibilities.

The new pattern books make it easier than ever to be your own interior decorator. You have the power to do virtually what you like with your room, knowing it will all hang together, underpinned by the expertise of the big fabric houses.

Osborne & Little, Designers Guild, Colefax & Fowler and Anna French are all in on the act. The message is: don't just match, but mix, mix, mix.

Experience the excitement for yourself at Focus, London's biggest furnishing-fabric festival. It takes place next week in the glassy showcase of Chelsea Harbour Design Centre and its surrounding showrooms, mainly along nearby King's Road.

This is the big launch of autumn/winter fabric collections to the trade. Interior designers from all over the world come to view the latest styles, which the public can see next Wednesday. There is free entry and transport between showrooms.

Wrap yourself in warm winter colours. Russet, burgundy and aubergine join retro orange and rich chocolate brown. Heightening the effect are textured, touchy-feely fabrics, such as faux suede, cut velvet, lustrous chenille, updated tweed and fine wool.

The trend for texture continues into voiles, with crinkled pleats, metallic overlays, embroideries and even hand-sewn pearls also featured.

Summer brights refuse to dim, with pink leading the field in all shades from sorbet to shocking.

The nation's love affair with florals continues, but petals get a new clarity and scale with the use of digital-computerised printing techniques. Soft lilacs and lustrous silver remain popular for shimmering, floaty, romantic textiles.

Lady Victoria Weymouth's Maroc designs for Osborne & Little have Berber undertones - an ikat stripe, an informal large-scale paisley and a bold zigzag. For Brian Yates, Sheila Coombes has created Summer Palace, redolent of Venetian palazzos and Russian summer houses. Velvets are embroidered with chunky linen yarns and rustic linen is overlaid with rich chenille.

There is no single theme for fabric designs this season, rather there is a clutch of "looks", complementary and contrasting.

Innate talent and wide publicity make Nina Campbell one of London's best-known decorators. Now everyone can access her skill and flair through Osborne & Little's latest edition of her designs. Linen prints in delicate florals or large-scale fretwork patterns can be made to work with strié ¶elvet and self-coloured patterned damask.

Along King's Road, Tricia Guild is Designers Guild's decorating doyenne. Her new China Rose collection is as imaginative as ever. She says she has "combined the eccentricity and charm of the English country garden with Italy's architectural grace and splendour".

To offset detailed botanical drawings are elegant silk taffetas with satin and grosgrain stripes, along with velvets in glorious colours and soft, rich textures. A perfect example of the new sophisticated approach to mix and match.

Anna French (whose showroom is also in King's Road) is unsurpassed for affordable prints, all with a touch of characteristic panache. She has spent the past two years developing complementary textures. A huge selection of plain-coloured linens have an attractive, light, stone-washed finish; others have a self-coloured pattern in a soft fuzzy chenille. The result is a large autumn edition of subtle weaves that give her existing patterns a fresh dimension.

At Chelsea Harbour, Harlequin is a fabric brand that is reassuringly accessible at about £22 a metre; neighbouring fabric houses quote prices of up to £100 a metre or more.

It is difficult for florals to be "new", but these definitely have an unconventional twist. According to the designer: "By combining fabrics from this collection, you can make a room that's essentially individual and completely unpredictable."

Which sums up the essence of this autumn's best textiles.

Show details

Focus is at Chelsea Harbour Design Centre and nearby showrooms in SW3 and SW10 from 21 to 24 September (10am-6pm). The public day on 24 September is free with no ticket needed. There is free transport by Renault between the showrooms, with the pick-up point at Sloane Square. Call 020 7225 9121 or see www.chelsea-harbour.co.uk.

Contacts

Osborne & Little: 020 7352 1456; www.osborneandlittle.com
Anna French: 020 7351 1126; www.annafrench.co.uk
Designers Guild: 020 7243 7300; www.designersguild.com
Brian Yates: 020 7352 0123
Harlequin: 01509 225000; www.harlequin.co.uk
Colefax & Fowler: 020 7493 2231
Zimmer & Rohde: 020 7351 7115; www.zimmer-rohde.com
GP & J Baker: 020 7351 7760

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