Patterned for opulence

I recently interrupted a recent European sojourn to fly back to New York and join my many good friends for BDNY. I was especially looking forward to joining my collaborators at Fabric Innovations to launch my first-ever luxury bedding collection. Alas, I fell ill and on doctor’s strict orders had to miss the event, much to my disappointment. But reports (and photos, some shown here) suggest it was a big success.

Deborah Herman and her crew put together a handsome and attention-getting setting, with a crowd-pleasing Instagram promotion, to showcase the beautiful results of our joint efforts. I’ve been working for 38 years to change the feel, taste and appearance of luxury in big resorts, and the collection puts to work all that learning.

I drew great delight from putting many of my favorite motifs to work in new ways for these products. Minnie Mouse and Donald Duck, early on, schooled me in the delights of big polka dots. Here, the “Seeing Spots” pattern incorporates a checkerboard motif, which brings a new dimension of luster and interest. And another pattern, “XOXO,” is just what the name says – crosses and circles with a bit of trompe l’oeil going on, adding intrigue to the seemingly simple.

If you know my work, you may know my weakness for classic textile patterns like houndstooth. It takes me back to my childhood, when my parents and grandparents would all wear the classic tweed pattern. The execution by Fabric Innovations is big and bold, the way it looked to me as a small child.

My friends also know my love of architectural motifs, especially from the heyday of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Drawing on those traditions, “Zig Zag Baroque” delivers a bit of textural romance. “Chequers” borrows its inspiration from a 17th-century French garden.

For another design I drifted East, incorporating a classic “Malacca” caning pattern, more usually found on seating.

And there’s no better place to doze languidly than poolside, so “Garden Bands” evokes a waterside fantasy of a big-striped cabana and a lush garden.

All the designs are available in a choice of finishes – smooth cotton sateen, or matelassé finish in polyester offering extra visual depth.

I’m very excited about the opportunity to offer more hotel guests around the world the chance to sleep a little more luxuriously on beds smartly made with these new offers. I’m very grateful to the entire Fabric Innovations team for their great collaborative spirit and exacting attention to quality.