Gilded textiles have been treasured since antiquity. As early as 1981 B.C, wealthy ancient Egyptians have applied gold leaf to linen to adorn their funerary objects. By the 9th century A.D., Yemen’s famed tiraz textiles (meaning ‘embroidery’), inscribed with painted gold, were often presented as ceremonial gifts by royalty. Around the same time, China was producing tapestries with threads of silk wrapped in parchment gold.

KESI PANEL WITH TIGER AND BIRDS ON FLORAL GROUND. THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK

Meanwhile, in Europe, gold and silver textiles were among the most expensive possessions owned by the Church and private hands. Expert goldsmiths wound gold and silver strips around silk threads, which was then used in brocades, coats of arms and tapestries. These luxurious pieces were considered the clearest symbol of power, wealth and taste. Even when trade and improvements in technology made metallic threads more available, they were still limited to luxury goods.

PAIR OF 17TH-CENTURY CHOPINES (PLATFORM SHOES) WITH SILVER-GILT LACE. VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON.

In the 18th century, King Louis XIV of France, the Sun King, owned the greatest collection of tapestries at the time, many of which were hand-woven in metal-wrapped threads and based on designs by the most renowned painters. This gigantic tapestry, close to five metres wide, was purchased for Versailles. The design is based on Nicolas Poussin’s painting Baby Moses Trampling on the Pharaoh’s Crown, but the tapestry is nearly four times larger than the original artwork and embroidered with expensive gold thread to dazzle the court.

THE INFANT MOSES TRAMPLES ON PHARAOH’S CROWN. TAPESTRY. VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON.

The 20th century saw a shift in taste. In the early 1900s, Austrian painter Gustav Klimt used gold and silver leaf to signify beauty, romance and grandeur in paintings such as Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, and Art Deco designers used gold accents to bring a shine to their clean, geometric patterns. But by the middle of the century, the metals of choice became steel and chrome, often paired with glass. Man-made was in, while gold and silver were considered unfashionable and strictly out. Except, perhaps, in fashion: gold was still considered a sign of beauty and status, as Marilyn Monroe proved with her iconic gold dress in the acclaimed 1953 comedy Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

GUSTAV KLIMT’S PORTRAIT OF ADELE BLOCH-BAUER I (THE LADY IN GOLD) ; MARILYN MONROE’S GOLD DRESS IS GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES

Today, artists, designers and decorators continue to use a hint of (or a heap of, depending on the individual) gold and silver to bring sparkle, opulence or a nod to history to their creations. Gilded metals are thankfully more accessible than ever, and not limited to just the wealthiest of customers.

The legacy and expertise of the historic craftsmanship remain: Gianluca Franzese, artist and collaborator on TOPFLOOR’S MATRIX rugs, grew up in a family of jewellers and still uses traditional methods of gilding in his paintings, covering his artworks in as many as 18 layers of aluminium, silver or gold leaf. Instead of using metallic thread, TOPFLOOR’s Founder and Creative Head Esti Barnes used bamboo silk to bring a shine to their woven creations, such as the dazzling SHIMMER rug.

TOPFLOOR ‘SHIMMER’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

Once an obscure discipline in the art world, the appreciation of textile art is now on the rise. Just three years ago, publishers Phaidon released a “first of its kind” survey of over 100 global living fibre artists, titled Vitamin T: Threads and Textiles in Contemporary Art – this September, the book will be released as a paperback edition for the first time.

The artists celebrated in Vitamin T range from those working almost entirely in threads and fibres, such as Columbian artist Olga de Amaral or Mexican artist Pia Camil, to those who use textiles as part of mix-media works or their wider artistic practice, such as British artist Phyllida Barlow or Ghanaian sculptor El Anatsui.

INSTALLATION PHOTO OF “WAITING FOR THE UFOS” AT KEMPER MUSEUM. © POLLY APFELBAUM

One of the artists in the book who create rug-like works is American artist Polly Apfelbaum, who is perhaps best known for her vibrant and gigantic floor coverings, many of which are hand-woven in collaboration with artisans in Mexico. Apfelbaum’s creations may look playful – technicolour geometric or abstract forms, body parts, and even flowers – but behind these cheerful shapes, she is inspired by ideas of social politics, feminism, pop culture and the blurring of high and traditional crafts.

INSTALLATION VIEW OF IGSHAAN ADAMS KICKING DUST AT HAYWARD GALLERY, 2021 © IGSHAAN ADAMS, 2021. PHOTO BY MARK BLOWER

Another maker of floor weavings and woven tapestries highlighted in Vitamin T is Igshaan Adams, who is currently enjoying his first solo exhibition in the UK, at London’s Hayward Gallery (Igshaan Adams: Kicking Dust, until 25 July 2021). A gay, practising Muslim from South Africa, Adams’s textiles explore the conflicts of his race, identity, religion and sexuality. He often collaborates with family and friends in beading his intricate, mix-media artworks.

OM NOM ORE, 2015 / TODO CUSTO, 2015. © CAROLINE ACHAINTRE

Meanwhile, London-based artist Caroline Achaintre creates hand-tufted wool tapestries inspired by German Expressionism and Primitivism. She learned to tuft while at university, when she wanted to bring a large-scale, spatial quality to her ink drawings. She “fell in love” with tufting. “I never thought I’d still be doing it 13 years later,” she said in a 2016 interview.

American artist Josh Faught sews, crochets and weaves hemp yarn with everyday objects like nail polish, books and paper towels to combine traditional crafts with his personal history and politics. “For years, fibres or textiles were a surrogate for political activism,” he has said. In a world where we are constantly reacting to events and updates, textiles are his challenge to say “something very urgently through the slowest means possible”.

TRIAGE, 2009. © JOSH FAUGHT. SOURCE: SAATCHI GALLERY

Last, but by no means least, one pioneer missing from Vitamin T’s list is award-winning textile artist Sheila Hicks, whose colourful works are in the collections of the museums in London, Paris, New York, Tokyo and beyond. Hicks, who is now in her eighties, has been experimenting with textiles since her mid-twenties and has studied with Josef Albers at Yale. Blurring the boundaries between painting, architecture and traditional crafts, Hicks’s creations range from small, woven pieces to monumental installations.

Our Design Director Esti Barnes was lucky enough to be in Santiago in December 2019 to visit her exhibition Reencuentro at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, exhibiting works inspired by pre-Columbian textiles of the Andes.

ARTWORKS FROM REENCUENTRO, SHEILA HICKS’S EXHIBITION AT MUSEO CHILENO DE ARTE PRECOLOMBINO, 2019. PHOTOS BY ESTI BARNES.

A solo exhibition of Hicks’s new work is on view at Alison Jacques Gallery in London (Music to My Eyes, until 31 July 2021), while a major retrospective is planned at the Hepworth Wakefield in 2022.

This May, interior design professionals and enthusiasts alike will be flocking to London Design Week (17–21 May) to catch up on the latest news and trends after months of isolation. Among the new creations to discover is TOPFLOOR’s latest collection – MATRIX, created in collaboration with Italian-born American artist Gianluca Franzese – which we are exhibiting for the very first time since its unveiling, digitally, earlier this year.

Here is a quick introduction to the collection and the stories behind each rug.

A DETAIL FROM TOPFLOOR ‘SHIMMER’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

TOPFLOOR’s Founder and Creative Head Esti Barnes found Gianluca’s art through Instagram. The son of a jewellery maker, Gianluca uses aluminium, silver and gold leaf (sometimes up to 18 layers of metallic glaze) to create meticulous, symmetrical optical patterns – a glittering homage to the works of M. C. Escher and Frank Stella. His striking art is sought after by some of the best-known global companies. Most recently, he completed a 65ft mural at FACEBOOK’S California headquarters. He also works with TIFFANY & CO. and will shortly be producing an artwork for their new store in Rome, after already completing one in Milan.

Esti was immediately drawn to the precision, colours and perspectives of Gianluca’s work, and he to Esti’s designs and passion. They agreed on collaborating from their studios in London and San Francisco. After a long process of elimination, Esti chose four designs to translate into rugs, which retained the paintings’ original distinctiveness yet could also suit her clients with a diverse range of interior schemes.

SHIMMER

SEPARATION BY GIANLUCA FRANZESE. © GIANLUCA FRANZESE / TOPFLOOR ‘SHIMMER’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

SHIMMER is a hand-knotted rug based on Gianluca’s artwork titled SEPARATION. To recreate the flat blues and shimmering golds, much like the sun reflecting on the sea, Esti chose wool to translate the artwork’s blue acrylic paint, while bamboo silk was used to translate the gold leaf.

NEBULA

NEBULA BY GIANLUCA FRANZESE. © GIANLUCA FRANZESE / TOPFLOOR ‘NEBULA’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

Hand-knotted rug NEBULA turns Gianluca’s artwork of the same name, painted in aluminium, silver and white gold leaf, into a 100% bamboo silk rug. Esti chose pastel pinks, blues and greys for the colour scheme to reflect the sky and the space cloud NEBULA is named after. Each bamboo silk thread has around 10 different coloured strands, graduating from dark to light, to achieve a metallic shine and sparkle, like the reflection of stars.

RHOMBUS

RHOMBUS BY GIANLUCA FRANZESE. © GIANLUCA FRANZESE / TOPFLOOR ‘RHOMBUS’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

RHOMBUS faithfully recreates Gianluca’s artwork of the same name as a 100% wool, hand-knotted rug. For this work, Esti was careful to pick exactly the same colours as the painting, so that it can perfectly capture the same trompe-l’œil effect of dimension and volume. The shapes in hand-knotted rugs can sometimes become pixelated, but RHOMBUS maintains its clear, crisp lines using very fine yarn and a high thread count.

FACET

REVOLVER BY GIANLUCA FRANZESE. © GIANLUCA FRANZESE / TOPFLOOR ‘FACET’ RUG, FROM MATRIX COLLECTION

FACET was born from a “love at first sight” moment when Esti saw Gianluca’s REVOLVER artwork. She translated this double-banded painting into a hand-tufted runner, picking each colour to retain the dome-like effect of the design. “Rugs are generally 2D, but my rugs are not. My rugs are generally 3D,” explained Esti during her interview at COVER Connect earlier this year. “Sometimes they are 2D but have a 3D effect. I want to give volume to things.” FACET was made using a very fine tapestry-quality loop pile technique – instead of cut pile – to prevent the outlines from moving and looking wavy.

Find TOPFLOOR’S showroom at London Design Week on the Second Floor of Design Centre Chelsea Harbour’s South Dome.

London Design Week is Spring’s most authoritative interior design event. This year’s instalment will see a hybrid of in-person visits and an online programme, allowing a global audience to explore new-season collections, uplifting patterns and defining products.

After a long, bleak winter in lockdown, the arrival of spring is a breath of fresh air and also a sigh of relief. Sunshine, warm weather and the return of nature is a welcome change, both to our surroundings and our perspectives. Even those of us choosing to stay inside a bit longer, while we wait for the COVID-19 pandemic to improve, can still enjoy the delights of spring from our homes. Here are six tips to help bring the new season indoors.

CHERRY BLOSSOMS. PHOTO BY ESTI BARNES

Flower power

Nothing says spring like flowers. There are so many ways to add blooms into your rooms, from real, freshly picked bouquets to floral patterns on textiles and upholsteries. Or you can opt for a statement floral rug to ground your space and bring the décor together.

TOPFLOOR ‘GLORIA’ RUG, FROM JAZZ COLLECTION

Start with a clean slate

“Spring is the time for plans and projects,” said Russian author Leo Tolstoy. Make space for the new season with a big spring clean and let go of the old things that no longer add value to your life – this could be furniture, clothes or even outdated ideas. Replace them with new items, activities and dreams that bring you joy.

Get gardening

March and April are prime months for sowing seeds and bulbs. Those who live in the city or in an apartment can experiment with indoor gardening on their balconies or even windowsills. If you don’t have a green thumb, however, you can introduce leafy pot plants or garden-inspired colours into your interiors. A rug with accents of grass green, wood brown or blossom-like pastels can help you feel like you’re walking through a field of long grass or wildflowers.

Let there be light

With the days getting longer and sunnier, brighten up your rooms by investing in new lamps and colourful shades, or by cleaning your windows of the winter dust to let in more natural light.

Natural fibres

Grass-based textiles and cane furniture – like jute, bamboo, rattan and wicker – are making a comeback. Not only do these materials offer a feeling of warmth and organic beauty, but they are also highly environmentally friendly. Some grass fibres are even more sustainable than wood. Many grass-based rugs can be made without dyes, which offers an all-natural look to your space.

TOPFLOOR ‘PANIER’ RUG, FROM YOURS NATURALLY COLLECTION

Sky and sea

Following many months of cold, dreary grey, the sky is finally returning to a bright blue and the sea will soon be warm enough to swim in. But if visiting the seaside is not an option right now, bring the beach to you with a coastal-inspired rug – for example, in a calming, sandy hue; a rippled, watery blue; or a gradient of both.

TOPFLOOR ‘BEACH’ RUG, FROM HIMALAYA COLLECTION

At a time when cities are locked down and global travel is almost impossible, technology has been a lifeline for bringing like-minded people together from around the world. On 13 January, COVER magazine invited TOPFLOOR by Esti’s Design Director and founder Esti Barnes in London and San Francisco-based artist Gianluca Franzese to give an exclusive virtual interview as part of the first COVER Connect (12-15 January) virtual design show.

TOPFLOOR’S ESTI BARNES IN CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST GIANLUCA FRANZESE AND RACHEL MEEK, ASSISTANT EDITOR OF COVER MAGAZINE, FOR COVER CONNECT

From their homes over 5,000 miles apart, Esti and Gianluca spoke over Zoom to Rachel Meek, Assistant Editor of COVER magazine, about working together on their new MATRIX collection of four rugs.

“We had announced the collaboration in a blog post in January 2020 and while the pandemic delayed our intended launch, we were delighted to finally unveil it at COVER Connect this month.
I found Gianluca on Instagram,” explained Esti at the start of the interview.

She was amazed by the colours and the mind-blowing precision of his paintings. After contacting Gianluca, “he told me everything was made by him, alone, and by hand,” Esti recalled. “It was a challenge. As I always go for challenging, unusual projects, I said, ‘okay, that suits me fine, let’s go for it’.”

Gianluca’s art specialises in modernising traditional methods of gilding, using aluminium, silver and gold leaf. His paintings can have up to 18 layers of gilt. The artist, who has made pieces for Tiffany & Co and Facebook, had previously thought about making scarves and wallpapers of his art but had been too busy to make it happen, “but when Esti reached out and I was like ‘yes please!’. I saw her work, I loved her designs and her passion, and I went for it,” he said in the interview.

TOPFLOOR MATRIX COLLECTION ‘NEBULA’ RUG / TOPFLOOR MATRIX COLLECTION ‘SHIMMER’ RUG

Esti went on to describe why she chose these particular works by Gianluca to translate into handmade rugs, how she picked the materials, and how collaborating with Gianluca on the MATRIX Collection has been a completely different experience to her collaboration with Hassan Massoudy on the SCRIPT collection.

The full interview is currently available to watch by COVER Connect trade registrants.

The COVER Connect virtual fair gave TOPFLOOR the opportunity to chat with rug companies, interior designers and buyers from around the globe. In addition to launching the MATRIX collection, it was also a chance to present celebrated existing collections, including MUSE, ELEMENTS and LET’S DANCE. Despite the lockdown in London, technology enabled the design world to stay connected.

TOPFLOOR looks forward to attending London Design Week (11-16 April) virtual fair later this year.

Karim Rashid. © Financial Times ‘How to Spend It’

‘Jack of all trades, master of none’ is the English saying that prescribes specialization. Fortunately, not everyone takes the advice and the design world has been enriched by a number of highly–gifted individuals, usually working at the intersection between art, fashion, architecture, interior- and product design. In today’s world, New York-based Karim Rashid immediately springs to mind. Rashid’s mantra is “We must evolve, we must innovate, and we must change,” and it is this creative restlessness which drives many of his multi-talented colleagues such as Marcel Wanders, Patricia Urquiola and others. Let’s not forget the earlier pioneers, however, such as Eileen Gray, Gio Ponti Florence Knoll who roamed freely between architecture, fabric, carpets, furniture and interior design shaping the course of design in the 20th century.

Eileen Gray. Early 20th Century furniture. © DEZEEN/Zeev Aram

In his article Polymath Interpolators: The Next Generation of Designers (Napier University, 2007), Paul A. Rodgers argued that “a new emerging generation of designers is needed to tackle the many different challenges facing the design profession,” and he describes this designer as the “hybrid designer.” He explained: “designers no longer fit neatly into categories such as product, furniture and graphics; rather they are a mixture of artists, engineers, designers, entrepreneurs and anthropologists.”

Today, 13 years after Rodgers’ article was published, it’s safe to say that this is becoming the new ‘design’ normal. Few of today’s great designers could be considered to be specialists in just one discipline, most are making their name in multiple design fields or have ambitions in that direction.

Philippe Starck, table and chairs, © wikipedia | Lemon squeezer. © Black by Design.

Ecole Camondo graduate Philippe Starck excels in art, architecture and product design across the broadest spectrum. Over 1 million copies of his famous plastic ‘Angel’ chair have been sold neatly illustrating his goal to bring ‘design’ to the masses. Famous now for every thing from staplers to superyachts and bathroom fittings to 5 star hotels, wearable technology and more, Starck is perhaps today’s consummate example of the design polymath.

This is not just the domain of men. There are many great women who excel in multi-discipline design.

Chairs: Patricia Urquoila / Rug: Esti Barnes. © Topfloor by Esti / Sonar Batroom Collection: Patricia Urquoila. © Dezeen.

Spanish-born Patricia Urquiola trained as an architect graduating from the Milan Politecnico in 1989. She opened her studio in Milan in 2001 having learned her craft from some of the greats of Italian industrial design such as Achille Castiglioni and Vico Magistretti. A partnership with Patrizia Moroso led to the design of the Step Sofa debuting at the Saloni in Milan in 1998.

Amidst all of these accomplishments, she had a stint at Lissoni Associati, beginning in 1993, where she developed furniture for Italian giants Cappellini and Cassina. Her achievements range from hotels such as the Mandarin Oriental in Barcelona to metal ware for Georg Jensen, home accessories for Louis Vuitton, terrazzo floors for BMW and most recently, a bathroom collection for Laufen.

Building by Zaha Hadid, © selo-uk.com

Zaha Hadid was one of the world’s most celebrated architects, constantly pushing the latest technologies and materials to create boldly contemporary, organic and free-flowing designs. Her work included the Beijing Airport, and the critically-acclaimed Aquatics Centre for the London 2012 Olympic Games, with its instantly-recognisable swooping roof.

But besides creating some of the world’s greatest buildings, Hadid was also a celebrated painter, furniture and home accessories designer, working with some of the world’s most renowned design brands, including Alessi, Vitra and B&B Italia. She had an endless portfolio of products: from furniture to footwear and even jewellery, prototype cars and yachts.

Lockdown for all of us was a new and unwelcome experience. It sort of felt like solitary confinement except we had committed no crime. Safety from the awful virus was our only purpose and consolation. How our lives changed! Who could have imagined us as ZOOM’ers or experts on the best of NETFLIX or AMAZON PRIME? Updating our online shopping lists became a regular and irritating chore for those like us who cannot plan menus and don’t feel like standing gloved and masked in a car park waiting to enter Sainsbury’s. Our laptops had suddenly become our new best friends.

SOCIAL DISTANCING DURING PRODUCTION

As best we could, we have managed to run our business, staying in touch with our weavers and clients and even holding design meetings to discuss projects, some already underway, others ready to go, as soon as we get out of jail. But with several new rug designs in progress and some already to hand, we needed a way to start promoting them to the world – without leaving home!

CANCAN RUG. STYLIST: KARINA GARRICK. PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER DIXON

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) has become the go-to technology for product design companies like TOPFLOOR and we have been using it for some time now. Don’t get us wrong, nothing can beat real photography and the fun of a creative day spent on location with photographer, stylist, props, and countless cups of coffee and the thrill of seeing the final results on the screen. We all know that a picture is worth a thousand words and a brilliant picture many times more. So being stuck indoors has given us the ideal chance to explore even further the possibilities and benefits of CGI.

First, of course, there is the matter of cost. Photoshoots mean booking a photographer, stylist, a man with van, renting props and a location, transporting rugs to and from and being away from the office. Then of course there is the post-production work which adds to time and cost.

EVERY STONE RUG. PHOTOGRAPHER: MARK BOLTON

By contrast and at a fraction of the cost, CGI software means you don’t have to leave the office or plan way in advance. You don’t have to juggle dates with the photographer, stylist, venue or studio, and the man with the van. CGI designers can add locations, room sets, props and even lighting conditions that work perfectly with our designs that we can fine tune at the click of a mouse.

VALENTINO RUG. CGI: AD ARCHITECTURE

In a competitive world, speed is vital in getting new designs and products into the market. CGI is perfect for quick fire product launches and it is possible to get customer feedback (and perhaps an order) even before going into full production.

WOODSCAPE RUG. CGI: AD ARCHITECTURE

We are a bespoke business and we can customize our designs almost without limit. CGI means we can create high-quality images that can show different variations of the same design much faster than with traditional photography.

BOOGIE BOOGIE RUNNER. PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK BOLTON. CGI: AD ARCHITECTURE

BOOGIE BOOGIE RUNNER. PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK BOLTON. CGI: AD ARCHITECTURE

Finally, CGI with its immediacy whether still or video, is perfect for satisfying social media’s insatiable appetite for new and inviting imagery.

ENVELOPE RUG. INTERIOR DESIGN AND PHOTOGRAPHY: GREGORY PHILLIPS ARCHITECTS

The lockdown has given us a chance to prepare for the ‘new normal’ as well as the opportunity to learn some new skills. We are still relatively new to the world of CGI and are keen to explore its potential for our future design and product plans – in conjunction with traditional photography.

The dictionary defines ‘icon’ as something which is worshipped or idolized. It can also refer to something that symbolizes a person or an object. This second meaning suits our Design Director, Esti Barnes, better since our designs often feature her signature styles and techniques. So here are a few of them that have marked our course over the past 22 years and which we feel best represent our style, favourite techniques and creative imagination. Some have won prizes and all of them remain popular with clients old and new and within the design industry.

ESQUIRE

Inspiration for this rug with its’ random carved surface shapes came from several discarded and scrunched up pieces of paper littering our studio floor. Explaining the 3D effect we were after to our weavers was a challenge but nowhere near as hard as the sampling process itself. Interestingly, along the way, and due to a misinterpretation by the weavers, we ended up with an unplanned design which we later dubbed EVEREST.

Fate had it that we were then commissioned to make rugs for the high profile owner of a luxury property developer. When his interior designer saw our ESQUIRE samples, she said “That’s the design, let’s do it! ”.

Then ESQUIRE went on to be awarded British Product of the Year by ELLE Décor in the UK and Best of Year by INTERIOR DESIGN Magazine in the US. The design has evolved over the years from its initial monochrome form to a colour graded version, appropriately named ESQUIRE EVOLUTION.

ESQUIRE

ETHEREAL

This design came about as our nod to the classical floral patterns so popular in rug and carpet design over the years. Our twist was to place random areas of high and low carved floral detail and cut-outs at strategic points within and around the design. The resulting effect was slightly gothic but it worked particularly well since the positioning of the carved detailing could be changed to fit the interior scheme.

ETHEREAL

EMMENTHAL

Who could ever forget the name of this design with its tell-tale cut outs inspired by its’ namesake Swiss cheese? Like ESQUIRE, we added colour gradation to give even more dimensionality and like ESQUIRE, this design picked up another Best of Year from INTERIOR DESIGN magazine.

EMMENTHAL

ENVELOPE

As we were developing our carved and sculpted designs like ESQUIRE and ETHEREAL, we were exploring an altogether quieter and more subtle rug style using colour shading. Esti was not fond of the shading in some woven textiles at the time because the tonal changes were in bands. She knew she could do better by pushing the boundaries which she did, to achieve colour changes which were as smooth as a watercolour wash. ENVELOPE was the finished result.

ENVELOPE

These are just a few examples of our work from the past 22 years. Each one is unique and had a different starting point in terms of its original inspiration or creative idea. We hope that they capture some of our personality and reflect the elements of fun and novelty that we always aim for in our design process. We hope that you will like them and the ones to follow.

CREDITS:

Kevin Reiner Design; Interieurs Design Studio; Gregory Phillips Architects; Rebecca James Studio; TP Bennett

We are living through very unusual times, a global event we never thought we would see in our lifetime.

In this super advanced age of technology and digital-communication, even mega-powers have been reduced to nothing against an invisible enemy that looks like a laundry eco-ball.

People are locked up in their houses unable to go to work, businesses came to a halt sending their labour forces home, public transport and airlines ceased operating completely and huge economies are under threat!

What did we do to deserve this?

There are questions, we, as human beings have to ask ourselves and come up with some answers, hand on heart.

The thing I regularly ask myself is, did we go too far? Did we need all the food we ate, the clothes we wore, the devices we used for listening, watching, communicating and travelling…the list goes on.

Were we too fast in coming up with yet another upgrade for all of the above?

We went clothes shopping every so often to look fashionable; our mobile phones became obsolete within a year; ipods and ipads have become antiques in just a few years, brand new designer kitchens lost their appeal and ended up in the skip ; trips were never far enough, holidays always too short!

This was high speed technology-assisted consumption gone wild!

COVID-19 should be a wake up call to end this madness and make us re-think our place on this planet, how to better take care of it and care for each other!

Throughout history, romance and adoration have been two of the biggest influences on creative work, from art and architecture, to design and  fashion. February being Valentine’s month, once again, Topfloor founder and designer Esti Barnes shares her attraction to Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny, a favourite source of inspiration.

Born into an artistic family in Granada, Spain in May 1871, Fortuny’s family moved to Paris soon after, where he quickly demonstrated a talent in painting, as well as developing a deep interest in textiles. Fortuny’s fascination led him to experiment with dyeing and from there to designing  his own iconic textiles and dresses. The family moved later to Venice.

Image via www.fortuny.shop

While Fortuny is renowned for his work as a fashion and textile designer, his talents extended into different areas including, inventing, painting, photography, sculpting, architecture, etching and theatrical stage lighting. While living in Paris, where he undertook much of his work, Fortuny registered and patented more than 20 inventions.

Topfloor Script Collection ‘Roots’ Rug

Fortuny Dress via www.fortuny.shop

He also met Henriette Negrin in Paris, a skilled dressmaker, and the pair’s romance was matched by a mutual love of fashion. Fortuny was a rebel in the fashion world, rejecting the style lines that were popular during the period. He and Negrin collaborated to create the Delphos gown, a shift dress made of finely pleated silk, weighted down by glass beads that held its shape and flowed on the body. The hand-pleating was so intricate that nobody has since been able to recreate it. His work, as well as having a European look, has strong Asian, Indian and Moorish influences.

Fortuny Dress via www.fortuny.shop & Topfloor Dolores Rug

An even greater influence on Fortuny’s work was the Art Deco movement. His elegant, flowing dresses with tassels, beads and frills embody all the characteristics of this era. The Art Deco lines are also noticeable in his silk Fortuny lamps, printed with intricate gold detailing.

Image via www.fortuny.shop

Topfloor Ethereal Rug

Fortuny died at home in Venice and and his home, Palazzo Fortuny, remains an important landmark in Venice. It is even claimed that Fortuny’s work left its mark on the literary world, serving as a source of inspiration for the French writer Proust.

These days, his fashion designs  are considered artistic masterpieces and are on permanent display in major museums and galleries around the world to the delight of his many followers, one of whom is Esti.. “I find his style elegant, feminine, unique and timeless” she explains. She adds “ I never miss his exhibitions, wherever they are, and I collect all of his books”.

Fortuny Lamps via www.fortuny.shop