Songbird and Wool Check by Paul Smith
Introducing Songbird and Wool Check, two upholstery textiles designed by Paul Smith in collaboration with Maharam. Alternating between classical motifs and large-scale geometry, both textiles demonstrate Paul Smith’s ability to modernise traditional references through imaginative applications of scale and color.
A spirited departure from Paul Smith’s signature stripe, Songbird depicts a highly animated assortment of perched and singing finches within an arrangement of lilies, peonies, and hibiscus. What began as a study of English botanical motifs from Smith’s personal collection was synthesised as a hand-drawn pattern by a senior member of the Maharam Design Studio. Specially woven to create the illusion of three dimensions, graphic lines of alternating matte and lustrous yarns lend movement to silhouetted fauna while unexpected tones of walnut, jade, bronze, and celery underscore Songbird’s modern invocation of traditional references.
A return to Paul Smith’s signature exploration of color, Wool Check takes a modern approach to traditional applications of plaid. Guided by intricate tonal gradation, an expansive repeat of large-scale color blocking emulates one of Smith’s designs for apparel while emphasising painterly transitions between highly specialised tones such as rose, carob, petal, mulch and ginger within a single colourway. Woven by a specialised resource in the United Kingdom, Wool Check makes use of rich woollen spun yarns, resulting in a rustic, warmly textured cloth that reinforces the pattern’s tailored origins. Wool Check will also be available as a fringed throw in three colours.
About Paul Smith
Paul Smith’s ability to combine a flair for eccentric detail with a dedication to the highest standards of craftsmanship has made him among the most successful fashion designers in British history. In business for over forty years, Smith continues to be an integral part of every aspect of the company as both chairman and designer, producing collections sold in over seventy countries worldwide. With an enthusiasm for wide-ranging cultural references and idiosyncratic combinations of pattern and color, applied with understatement, Paul Smith expresses a truly contemporary aesthetic.