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:: November 11, 2005 Fabric Friday: Lucienne Day
Starting in the early 50s, Lucienne Day brought abstract design to fabric. She and her husband Robin were a mid-century design power duo, often referred to as the British Eameses (only I think her textiles are far more interesting than those of her Yankee counterparts). Her designs were so groundbreaking and enduring that people still refer to them by name.
The most famous "Calyx" Lucienne Day talks about Calyx here. An excerpt: Robin used it in his section and it was so popular that Heal's entered it for an award in New York that year. Calyx won, so the Festival of Britain was the beginning of my career. Suddenly one could produce designs and firms would be able to produce them because their looms would no longer be dedicated to making blackout material. They were set up again for producing things designers wanted to make. There was a feeling that the years of the war were behind us and that it would be a rosy future. And some notes on Day's design genius, from this site: Creating repeat patterns for textiles is a laborious process, but Lucienne's designs convey an impression of effortless spontaneity. "It is not enough to 'choose a motif', nor enough to 'have ideas' and be able to draw," she observed. "There must also be the ability to weld the single units into a homogenous whole, so that the pattern seems to be part of the cloth." Visually stimulating, but not over-insistent, her patterns are sophisticated and multi-layered, with cleverly balanced assertive and recessive elements, thereby working both from a distance and close up. Day's textiles are being reproduced by The Centre for Advanced Textiles at the Glasgow School of Art, but the cost is extremely prohibitive. Still, we can dream.
The other two are here and here. posted by in Fabric Friday
Comments I was folding my washing the other day and was making a neat little pile out of my tea towels when I noticed the name "Lucienne Day" on the bottom of one of my most worn out favourites inherited from my Grandma. It is full of holes but is now even more special to me! Posted by claire on November 11, 2005 10:49 PM very cool! thanks for the show and tell! Posted by kerstin on November 12, 2005 12:35 PM Thanks for all of the info. I've loved this stuff for a long time, but I didn't know about the book (or the shoes - ooooh!) I know someone (besides me) who would love this for Christmas. Posted by rose on November 13, 2005 3:58 PM how what a cool post! thanks for all the great images and links. . . Posted by amy k. on November 13, 2005 10:44 PM I'm liking the new blog background. And those shoes - how cute! Thanks for always posting about such inspiring goodies. Posted by allison on November 16, 2005 8:18 AM Thank you! Love Dandelion clock and Trio! Posted by chelle on November 16, 2005 2:43 PM Oooo, I think I am adding that book to my Christmas list. Thanks for the cool tip! Posted by corntastico on November 17, 2005 8:48 AM How amazing that those fabric designs look so great 50 years later. Putting them on shoes is genius! Posted by Silvia on November 17, 2005 3:14 PM |
: it has far more images of the Days' designs than are available on the internet. 
