INSIDE THE DESIGN

LIBRARY

PETERKOEPKE

PATTERNS

1THE DESIGN LIBRARY

2A–Z

3THE CREATIVES

8

FOREWORD 6

40

282

INDEX 330

5

THE DESIGN LIBRARY

Patterns are everywhere in nature. Likewise, there is a human impulse to impose order, and to organize systems into repeating patterns. In the world of textiles, such patterns have provided artistic inspiration for thousands of years, even before industrialization mechanized the process.

Textile designs serve no practical function, but they can transform an environment, tell the story of a culture, symbolize a tradition, establish unity, convey a personality, or express a mood. Culturally, they allow us to recognize “our tribe” and give one a sense of belonging.

Today, antique and vintage patterns can drive trends in fashion and interior design. Bold or tame, modern or romantic, patterns are a depar-ture from the plainness of solid color or una-dorned surfaces.

A balanced design provides a satisfying rhythm. Structure is civilizing. Repeating patterns are dependable — once we have seen an arrangement of motifs, we can anticipate seeing it again. The eye grows accustomed to the rhythm, and we notice when it is broken.

The process of pattern design has been deter-mined by the evolution of technology. Hand looms and rudimentary dye-transfer techniques

gave way to mechanized textile and paper mills of the Industrial Age, the patterns rendered with engraved plates, stencils, rollers, and screens; this booming industry supported a vast system of studio artists, engravers, printers, and weav-ers. A pattern design would begin with a hand drawing by an artist with specifi c skills to work within the constraints of textile manufacturing, such as the successful delineation of a motif with limited colors (to minimize the cost or complex-ity of woodblocks, plates, or screens) and fl at and consistent paint application so that shading could be accomplished without additional mix-ing. Even a simple dot would need to be care-fully sized and spaced to compose a pattern in a particularly appealing way. In addition, pat-terns would need to be able to repeat endlessly, so that when yardage or wallpaper was joined at the seams, the pattern would be continuous and unbroken. The labor-intensive process of hand-drawn pattern design has since been supplanted by the widespread adoption of computer-based technologies: image scanning and manipulation, CAD (computer-aided design) software, and dig-ital printing. But the most essential element of good pattern design remains the initial idea.

Today’s most talented designers — of even the most forward-thinking brands — routinely tap into the collective past for ideas, reinterpreting antique and vintage designs for a contemporary audience. The world’s largest and most rigorously organized repository of such source material is housed in the archives of the Design Library, a twelve-thousand-square-foot loft in a converted 1907 fabric mill in New York’s Hudson Valley.

NO PATTERN SHOULD BE WITHOUT SOME SORT OF MEANING.

— William Morris, “Making the Best of It” (c. 1879)

THE DESIGN LIBRARY THE DESIGN LIBRARY

76

THE DESIGN LIBRARY THE DESIGN LIBRARY

98

A 10

opposite: Handpainted Paper. 4th Q 20th Century. Studio Taroni. Italy

ABSTRACT

A catchall category for non-representational images that cannot easily be classifi ed elsewhere: bold explorations of line, shape, color, and contrasts. Motifs sometimes recur within the pattern, but the overall design gives the impression of freedom. Abstract’s lack of structure enables a distinctly modernist look.

A13A 12

ABSTRACT ABSTRACT

Hand-painted silk. Late 20th century. United States Hand-painted paper. Late 20th century. Chantal Geskoff. Chantal Geskoff Studio. France

Hand-painted paper. Late 20th century. France Printed fabric. Mid-20th century. France Hand-painted paper. Late 20th century. Studio Tucano. Italy

1514

To visit the Design Library is to enter a world of pattern, color, and materials that spans geography and centuries. We fre-quent this Hudson River aerie in search of one-of-a-kind historic designs: motifs with arresting aesthetic qualities, techniques that show off the virtuosity of their mak-ers, designs with soul. With the assistance of Peter and his extraordinary team, we’ve consistently found outstanding sources of inspiration — from nineteenth-century silk ikats from Uzbekistan to early twen-tieth-century hand-painted jellyfi sh from Lyonnaise fashion studios — that help form Beacon Hill’s singular design signature.

— Alexis Audette, Operating Vice President

Hand-painted paper. Early 20th century. Studio Bianchini-Ferier. France

T H E DE S IG N LI BR A RY S OURCE

PHOSPHORESCENT BEACON HILL

T HE DE S IG N BR I EF

1716

T HE FI N AL RE S ULT

FI R S T C ONCEPT S

COL OR TR IAL S

PHOSPHORESCENT BEACON HILL

F 5

MODERNIST

In 1934 the poet Ezra Pound said “Make it new!” The Modernist movement sought to do just that by merging traditional fi ne arts and industrial design, and textile designers followed suit. At the time, modern meant contemporary. Today, it often calls to mind the mid-century taste for geometric shapes, curvy spirals and boo-merangs, and the distinct colorways of the atomic age—all stylized impressions of the mechanical world.

opposite: Hand-painted paper. Mid- to late 20th century. Studio Vergely. France

F 1

FEATHERS

Totemic, symbolic, and sensual, Feathers express the ephemeral beauty of nature. The various forms, whether stark and rigid or fl uffy and fan-ciful, have found decorative use across centuries and cultures, from Native American headdresses and African juju hats to Oscar Wilde’s peacock feather and the pattern designs of William Morris.

opposite: Hand-painted paper. Mid- to late 20th century. Studio Atelier Saint-Fiacre. France

F 3

FEATHERS

Hand-painted paper. Late 20th century. Michelle Berthet Studio. France

F4

FEATHERS

Overprinted jacquard. Late 19th century. France Overprinted jacquard. Late 19th century. France

Printed fabric. Late 19th century. France Printed fabric. Early 20th century. Probably France

Book specifi cationsBinding: HardbackFormat: 270 × 205 mm (10 ²/³ × 8 inches)Extrent: 332 ppNumber of images: 500 col.Word Count: 12,000ISBN: 978 0 7148 7166 0

Phaidon Press LimitedRegent’s WharfAll Saints StreetLondon N1 9PA

Phaidon Press Inc. 65 Bleecker Street8th FloorNew York, NY 10012

© 2016 Phaidon Press Limited

phaidon.com

The fi rst book to go behind the scenes of the Design Library: one of the world’s largest archives of textile and pattern design.

Includes an introduction exploring the concept of pattern and the history of the Design Library, with photographs by Mark Mahaney.

Fully illustrated with stunning examples of never-before-seen patterns from the Design Library’s exclusive collection, organ-ized alphabetically by terms.

Features case studies from major fashion and lifestyle brands.

Beacon Hill, Boden, Calvin Klein, Clinique, Colefax & Fowler, Lululemon, Nike, Oscar de la Renta, Pottery Barn, Target, and Uniqlo — each presenting a unique design inspired by a pattern from the Design Library collection.

The perfect gift for designers and artists alike.

PATTERNS

PATTERNS