Starry Indigo embodies two vital Japanese textile traditions which derive from the kimono: indigo dyeing which can achieve the darkest and lightest of blues through repeated dipping in the dye vat, and woven silk accentuated by luxurious metallic coated washi thread (silver in Starry Indigo). The appearance of starlets twinkling in a midnight blue sky...

This printed textile, Campagna, by Angelo Testa epitomizes his distinct design vocabulary. Likely named after Testa’s friend, Paul Campagna, Testa designed it around 1950 for Knoll Associates. Campagna utilizes Testa’s preferred linear and geometric forms, commonly associated with his Bauhaus training. The hard edges of the concentric rectangles in this textile, however, have been softened...

Last month in Cooper Hewitt Short Stories, we galloped through Sarah’s equestrian passion. In November’s short story, written by Matilda McQuaid, Deputy Curatorial Director and Head of Textiles at Cooper Hewitt, the sisters receive an important gift to their museum’s collection from family friend, J.P. Morgan. Margery Masinter, Trustee, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Sue...

Silk designs of 1695 to 1715, commonly termed ‘bizarre,’ were characterized by sinuous lines, strong diagonal movement, and motifs in strangely juxtaposed scales, which might include architectural elements, chinoiserie, and fantastical fruits and flowers. The seventeenth century was the age of exploration, and fashionable novelty was found in the rare and strange. Botanical gardens such...

Alexander Girard was the head of the Textile Division of Herman Miller Inc. from 1952 to 1973. During this time, he created over three hundred designs for textiles coordinated for use as upholstery fabrics and draperies for private and commercial interiors, exhibitions and corporate identity programs. His exuberant use of color, texture and pattern drew...

Japanese resourcefulness embodied in a nineteenth-century cloak.

Designed by Reiko Sudo, one of Japan's most important contemporary textile designers.

How textiles for saris are made and remade.

Sandy Chilewich has been the creative mind behind the vinyl tabletop industry she popularized with her eponymous line in 2000. She has said that she always had a passion for repurposing manufacturing processes and finding new applications for materials that have been underutilized. Most recently she saw an experimental fabric being manufactured at the weaving...