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Interiors
Feel the blur
GL IT TE R I NG WA K E Vervain was formed in 2004, offering fabrics in a wide variety of colors and patterns crafted with artistry for luxury interiors. In this ikat, called La Scolca Blue, water droplets seem to be chasing diamond-studded reflections from one sun-drenched afternoon at sea. $178 per yard, vervain.com
As luxury items become increasingly globalized and mass-marketed, ikat is leading the opposition. Ikat’s unique designs, born of a painstaking tie-and-dye “resist” weaving process, take us from the tribal to the modern megayacht world in a psychic second, says Louis Postel.
Abracadabra Apparel-maker Hermès is launching a new ikat collection, this one an exquisite table service. The blurring effect you see is called “Abra” or “cloud” in Uzbekistan. It comes from dyes bleeding slightly into the tied-off clusters of yarn before weaving. From $160 to $4,100, usa.hermes.com
Bohemian rhapsody
TH E L EGE ND L IVE S ON Smooth as glass Sara Baldwin, founder of premier mosaic tile manufacturer New Ravenna, designed the handmade jewel glass mosaic Pamir, shown above in quartz and lapis lazuli, as part of her Ikat Collection. From $150 square foot, newravenna.com
Born in 1906, Jim Thompson was a Princeton-educated man of the arts. A military officer in WWII, he later settled in Bangkok, where he fell in love with Thai silk weaving, arguably saving the industry from extinction by introducing the colorful fabrics to America and Europe. While he mysteriously disappeared in 1967, his company has grown. Thompson’s Ikat Collection is a tribute not only to this art form, but also to the man who nursed Southeast Asia’s textile crafts back to life. Blue Lagoon Ikat, above. jimthompsonfabrics.com
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The challenge for textile designers is to bring ikat’s blurred geometric patterns into the present, while respecting their authentic, timeless nature. In that spirit of luxury, Parisian textile designer Manuel Canovas, who created this Boheme pattern, will be debuting a new ikat collection this year, inspired by the coats of Uzbek horsemen and falconers. cowtan.com/manuel-canovas