SHORTS WALLPAPER FASHION
Above: wallpaperinspired looks from (left to right) Christopher Kane, Prada and Fendi
roll with it Wallpaper can often be taken for granted as an art form, but now some of the iconic prints from its midcentury heyday are inspiring the fashion world – as seen on the spring/summer catwalks
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Words by Hilary Alexander
Oscar Wilde’s scathing deathbed putdown, in room 16 of the Hôtel d’Alsace in Paris – “I can't stand this wallpaper. Either it goes or I do” – may have won wallpaper a place in the history of famous last words, but it did nothing for its image. Indeed, the very word has become something of a joke, a dismissive catch-all to describe anything bland and devoid of style. Yoko Ono, on the subject, quipped: “I like artists who have something to say; not wallpaper.” It’s all a far cry from wallpaper’s 19thcentury heyday as the last word in luxury home décor, handpainted in China, fashioned in silk or leather, or, as in William Morris’s 1864 “Trellis”, printed using hand-cut woodblocks and natural, mineral-based dyes. A century on, wallpaper had another big moment, as the bold, colourful designs of the mid-20th century made a splash on the walls of the nation's homes. From the 1950s through to the early ’70s, wallpaper was more popular than ever, with
many striking patterns created by leading designers of the day, among them Terence Conran, Lucienne Day, Audrey Levy and Enid Marx. Wallpaper suddenly signalled modernity. Design houses Palladio and the Silver Studio commissioned a whole raft of iconic papers, while Sanderson and Crown Wallpaper sold many of the most popular designs, some of which (such as “Mobiles” and “Dandelion Clocks”) have been revived today. At the luxury end of the market, society interior designer David Hicks reigned supreme with his strikingly colourful, geometric papers (now reissued by his son Ashley). Perhaps it’s no surprise, then, that the renewed interest in iconic wallpapers is also being expressed on the catwalk, as major names – including Prada, Simone Rocha, Alberta Ferretti, Christopher Kane, Fendi and Etro – showed wallpaper-inspired prints for spring/summer. Miuccia Prada went for geometrics, often in mustard-brown shades, for slick jacquard suiting and jackets with wide, “disco” collars allied to slim, below-the-knee skirts or shorts. Alberta Ferretti, meanwhile, worked the 1970s décor vibe in rust, mustard, chestnut and oxblood, often with a patchwork effect, or with boho swirls of rainbow colour. Etro also opted for a boho take, with floaty florals and paisleys, trimmed, fringed and beaded, for the ultimate festival freak or rock groupie; while Christopher Kane mixed wildflowerpower florals and mustard geometrics.Simone Rocha took inspiration from the Irish folk tradition of the “Wren Boys”, a starting point which led to a full-blown exploration of the chintz and china patterns to be found in Irish country cottages, most marked in a series of romantic, full-skirted, full-sleeved dresses in delicate blue-and-white wallpaper prints. Off the wall? Far from it. But probably not for wallflowers.
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