designers' home collections by shawna cohen international architecture and design

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Smart Idea: An efficient mountain cabin Special: Venice Biennale of Architecture 2010 Très chic: Fashion’s influence on home

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WINTER 2011 | CANADIAN EDITION

BIG IDEAS

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Big spaces: Outsized splendour in Quebec, Colorado, and Lima, Peru Big plans: ‘We’re building our dream house’ [ Part 1 in a series ] Big style: Calvin Klein designer’s NYC condo

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Off the Runway

rug; tted cashmere Feathers Top to bottom: Hand-kno bird ing mm Hu on cushion; Black Skulls wool Aubuss and silk). All by Alexander rug (shown in cashmere pany.

McQueen for The Rug Com

When fashion designers turn their energy and spontaneity to home furnishings, the results make a lasting impression.

By Shawna Cohen

Alexander McQueen: Boy Wonder Mention the name Alexander McQueen to any fashion enthusiast and you’re likely to hear about his brilliant architectural designs, iconic skull patterns, towering high-heeled footwear, or provocative runway shows that fuse fashion with technology and theatrics—like the time he had model Shalom Harlow stand on a revolving platform while robots sprayed jets of paint onto her pure white dress. “An artist who happened to work in fashion” is how Christopher Sharp, co-founder and CEO of The Rug Company, describes him. Sharp would know.

He collaborated with McQueen on one of the designer’s final projects before his untimely death in February: a six-piece collection of hand-knotted rugs with accompanying cushions designed exclusively for Sharp’s London-based company.

Like his ready-to-wear creations that were embraced by trendsetters ranging from Lady Gaga to Kate Moss, McQueen’s home collection has an element of fantasy.

His striking hummingbird rug, for instance—the image originated in his spring 2009 collection—appears three-dimensional, as if the jewel-toned birds are ready to fly off into the night sky. The detail, notes Sharp, is “almost photographic.” Another rug, woven from Tibetan wool and silk, incorporates the designer’s

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trademark skull pattern—coveted by women around the world, his skull scarves have come to symbolize the McQueen brand—in silver grey juxtaposed against a striking white background. Two tapestry cushions depict the same skulls, one in simple but statement-making black and white, the other in gold metallic thread.

It is McQueen’s attention to detail that partially accounts for the collection’s astonishing three-year design and production period. (Collections usually take around six months to turn around.) “McQueen really took his time,” recalls Sharp. “There were periods where he’d send us one design; then we wouldn’t hear from him for a couple of months; then something else would come through.”

Even now, with the design process complete, each rug takes between six and eight months to produce—double the normal time—because of the fine knotting involved and, according to Sharp, the scarcity of weavers skilled in this type of intense work. And, much like most popular runway pieces, there’s a waiting list for the rugs.

Sharp and his wife, Suzanne, who is co-founder and creative director of The Rug Company, approached McQueen first because they considered him to be “an extraordinary talent.” They had already collaborated with a range of highly regarded fashion designers, including Marni, Diane von Furstenberg, Paul Smith, and Vivienne Westwood. “The criteria is that they need to bring some value to a collection, something new,” explains Sharp. (High on his wish list of future collaborators is menswear designer Tom Ford.) “There are lots of big-name fashion designers who have approached us and we’ve said, ‘Great, show us your idea.’ And we end up telling them, ‘It’s wonderful, but we’ve already got that covered.’ ” In other instances, it can be a more natural—and surprising—match. There was the time, in 2007, that Sharp noticed a package on his desk that contained “absolutely fantastic” rug designs displayed on wooden boards. He assumed they had come from a student at the prestigious Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, until he spotted a note from Hungarian-born ceramic artist Eva Zeisel. “She was 102 years old when she sent them to us!” says Sharp. (Zeisel ultimately launched a collection for The Rug Company in 2009.)

For McQueen, the process was long and intense, but the final product illustrates his rare ability to transform simple materials into breathtaking works of art. And, just like his graphic-print gowns and New Age–meets–Victorian accessories, the rugs are guaranteed to inject just the right amount of drama—and beauty—into a room.

Designs by Alexander McQueen for The Rug Company are available in Canada exclusively at Avenue Road.

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Toronto textile designer Virginia Johnson’s new bedding collection features bloc k-printed quilts, duvets, and pillowcases treated to her sign ature bold colours and nature-inspired patterns.

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Virginia Johnson: Raw talent The merino wool shawls by Toronto textile designer Virginia Johnson are staples among the fashion set.

Colourful and bold with nature-inspired prints, they’re equally as chic thrown over a holiday party dress as they are useful for cosying up on the couch with a good book. Her new collection of bedding—duvet covers, quilts, and pillowcases, plus crib sets—offers that same mix of style and comfort, and, with typical Johnson panache, the patterns are breezy and whimsical, featuring leaves, flowers, ducks, even Dalmatian spots. “I live in the city, so I love any bit of nature and greenery that I can have around my home,” says Johnson, who came up with the bedding idea while renovating a house.

Johnson began her fashion career as an accessories designer for Helmut Lang—a label known for its stark minimalism—which is surprising, given the vibrant colour palettes in all of her creations, including the bedding collection in sunshine yellow, teal, and light blue. She also illustrated a series of books and stationery for fashion designer Kate Spade. But it’s her eponymous line of clothing and accessories, sold in more than 100 stores worldwide, that reflects her love of nature and the influence of her extensive travels.

On a recent trip to Jaipur, for example, her interest was piqued by the ancient Indian technique of block printing, and she has since become an expert, using it to create her bedding line. Patterns are hand-carved into wood blocks, which are then pressed onto cloth laid out on large padded tables.

“It gives a much more organic, irregular feel,” she explains. “There’s more texture, more character.” This natural “rawness” is perhaps what makes Johnson’s work, particularly her most recent collection, so appealing.

Ironic how something so labour-intensive can look like it was thrown together on a whim. But then again, isn’t that what real style is all about?

Virginia Johnson bedding is available at virginiajohnson.com.

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