The Contemporary Touch

Although I’m perfectly capable of appreciating bold colours and vibrant prints, when it comes to textile design I invariably find myself drawn, first and foremost, to weave, texture and touch.

So when I visited London Design Week at Design Centre Chelsea Harbour last week and viewed the new designs from Italian textile house Dedar I was happy to discover a collection that is overwhelmingly tactile in the most luxurious way.

Established in 1976 by Nicola Fabrizio and his wife Elda, Dedar today is still very much a family passion with son and daughter team Rafaelle and Caterina now at the helm of a growing international business.

Dedar’s designs are contemporary but at the same time have an elegant classicism. The new collection draws on a number of different moods and sources of inspiration – from African and tribal influences to graphic motifs and expressionism, and from the unique imperfections of the handmade through to haute couture tailoring. This showroom moodboard offers an insight into some of the inspirations behind the current collection.

The 2015 lookbook, shown below and shot by Milan based photographer Andrea Ferrari who has also worked on previous campaigns for Dedar, is a visual treat. However, even these beautiful images can’t fully do justice to this collection. It’s only possible to appreciate the texture, lustre and opulence of these designs by seeing and feeling them for yourself.

Touch is one of our most basic instincts. When we reach out to make physical contact with an object with our hands what we are often actually doing is seeking confirmation of what our eyes are already telling us, and it’s certainly hard to resist the urge to touch Dedar’s luxurious silks and opulent jewel toned velvets, or indeed the yearning to be cushioned and cosseted by their ripples and folds.

Here’s a run through of some of the collection highlights.

Designed to represent a heap of tangled ribbons, the Short-cuts design has a strikingly three dimensional effect which is accentuated by the interplay between its contrasting matt and lustrous elements.

Perfectly paired here with a green marble backdrop, Oban is an Italian interpretation of Scottish tartan in cotton velvet.

On The Edge is a bold geometric design, which has a light quilted effect.

Splendido is a viscose and silk velvet with a luxurious pile which at 4mm is almost twice the thickness of most velvets.

In Dedaedro a geometric motif takes on blurred contours. This softens the severity of the design and evokes the play of light on a faceted crystal surface.

Chérie, described by Dedar as an haute couture jacquard, is an homage to Coco Chanel and was inspired by her iconic tweed. It’s woven on special looms to accommodate the multiple different types of yarn from which the design is created – from fine and bulky to lustrous and matt.

Tangram features a tribal geometric motif applied to coarse hand-woven matka silk using a traditional screen printing technique.

All images are by Andrea Ferrari for Dedar except where otherwise stated.

Posted in collaboration with Dedar.