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every Spring beautiful catalogs and cards start rolling in-and so many worth holding onto. I hate to see them piling up but love to see some of the new fabric offerings if I don't get to the showings many companies have as way of introducing them .
The collection of , & the presentation from JIM THOMPSON is worth sharing -The Rite of Spring Collection.
APOLLO on the sofa (above) is a graphic Greek key design made of velvet. This is one of my favorite weights for upholstering sofas and chairs.
Named for the Ballets Russes performance of The Rites of Spring , Jim Thompson's newest fabrics for 2011.
Leon Bakst drawing of Nijinsky
The Rite of Spring, or Le sacre du printemps was a collaborative ballet with music by Stravinsky, original choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky, design for sets & costumes painter Nicholas Roerich- all coordinated by Serge Diaghilev. From each note- to each stitch- to each movement , its modernity still makes it the greatest of its kind in the 20th century. Later as a young man studying in Paris, Jim Thompson was inspired by Leon Bakst's costume designs for the Ballets Russes. Later-as an architect in New York, his continued passion for contemporary ballet and costume design led him to become a director of the Monte Carlo Ballet Company, an offshoot of the Ballets Russes based in the city. During World War II, Jim Thompson, the soldier, would be sent to Bangkok and there- his lasting passion would ignite- a love affair with Thailand & a fusion of fashion, design and art.
from left to right- a sheer called EPIDAUROS. on the wall FELICITA, a tantalizingly tiny ikat pattern. PARADE in green on the chair & ZEPHIRE, a Japanese-influenced floral pattern embroidered on a natural linen ground..
JIM THOMPSON'S second collection inspired by designer TONY DUQUETTE
RUNNING DOG (at left) is an updated version of Tony Duquette's 1940's woven Greek Key fabric design. DUQUETERIE (at right) was created using Duquette’s archival door panels from the famous “Elsie de Wolfe Cabinet” he designed for Elsie de Wolfe, Lady Mendel in 1941. These iconic carved plasters have been mirrored and paired as a series of recurring patterns with the fantasy “Tony Duquette Foliage”. Seated and standing blackamoore figures, so beloved by de Wolfe, were repeatedly used by Duquette in his work.
de Wolfe's cabinet designed by Tony Duquette
SNOWFLAKE is pattern Duquette designed after seeing a friend’s collection of 18th century carved Chinese screens. Jim Thompson pairs the modern design of the snowflake with an industrial “Punched metal motif” background.
SNOWFLAKE
DUQUETERIE
TRACERIE
a cut velvet silk designed from the traceries of an antique Chinese carved door from Duquette's collection.
JIM THOMPSON'S Rites of Spring Collection
a Leon Bakst costume design
CHLOE (above) is one of two new Jim Thompson Ikat patterns. DAPHNIS (below) is another interpretation of the IKAT . It pairs the richness of Thai silk and the boldness of an ikat- quite large- Daphnis takes Grand to new proportions.
a Leon Bakst watercolor rendering
Juliet, at l. Romeo at r. & Bakst costume designs below
the Jim Thompson site here
read more on Thompson and Duquette at the Peak of Chic here
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