From notable architects and designers past and present—David Adjaye, Hon. FAIA, and Alexander Girard among them—these upholstery fabric collaborations punch up furniture with vibrant colorways and eye-catching geometries.
Textured Edge, Suzanne Tick for Teknion
Two large-scale graphic upholstery textiles join five wall and panel fabrics in Textured Edge, a collection by New York–based designer Suzanne Tick for office-furniture manufacturer Teknion. With patterning intended to be reminiscent of sketches and line drawings created during the typical design process, the fabric layers color and texture to create shadow. Line Language, shown left, offers vertical gradations in background color as well as line thickness, mimicking the look of paint applied with a palette knife.
The British architect explores his African roots and love of hard geometries in this collection of woven and digitally printed fabrics. Each of its nine patterns—six upholsteries (Cairo, shown), two drapes, and one wallcovering—are informed by the continent’s geography, nature, and culture, and are named for locations there. The collection’s launch coincides with an exhibition of African textiles curated by the architect, “David Adjaye Selects,” at the Cooper–Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, in New York, through Feb. 14, 2016.
Dot Structure, by French designer Elodie Blanchard for HBF Textiles, features an optical illusion with a Buckminster Fuller–edge. The woven upholstery’s triangle grid is interrupted by a series of contrasting dots that create a subtle, hexagonal overlay. Made from Sunbrella yarns, the fabric can be used indoors and outdoors.
