Zardi & Zardi x Sir John Soane Museum Archive Collection
- Fiori E Leoni
The Brief
Zardi commissioned a collection of textile designs inspired by previously unpublished archive material from the Sir John Soane Museum. The archive included preliminary sketches for ceiling decorations, silk designs and figurative artwork.
The brief was to reinterpret these historical drawings into contemporary repeat patterns suitable for linen textiles while preserving the character and craftsmanship of the original works.
Working from archival sketches and reference material, I explored scale, repeat structure and composition to create a collection of designs for fabric and wallpaper collections.
The goal to create a collection that keeps within Zardi's historical aesthetic, yet is useable by modern interior designers to create settings that can be contemportary, yet keep a historical refernce.
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The archive revealed recurring themes of symmetry, ornamental geometry, botanical motifs and decorative storytelling. Initial exploration focused on identifying elements with potential for repeat design and large-scale textile applications.
I put the images into 2 categories, which allowed scope for 2 collections, or 2 stories in one collection. One was floral and the other was the Mannochi decorative story where small scale geos and traditional motifs came in from neo classical ceiling and panel designs.
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Archive Research & Source Material
Rather than reproducing the archive directly, the designs were reinterpreted through layering, deconstruction and scale manipulation. Multiple motifs were combined to create contemporary repeats while maintaining the spirit of the original drawings.
I used inspiration from trending layouts and themes to intrepret these motifs in similar ways. We started with very rough ideas to get a sense of how the motifs could work. Before we decided which ideas to develop further, and before deciding a colour palette.
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Concept Development
I also visited historical houses to get an idea for some layouts that we could incorporate into the motifs to retain the historical influence.
Inspiration for the Mannochi traditional designs
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The Collection
The Fiori e Leoni Collection is a collaboration between historic textile experts Zardi & Zardi and Sir John Soane’s Museum. 18th-century watercolours and drawings from the Museum’s extensive drawing collection serve as the inspiration for this delightful collection with a distinctly neo-classical flavour, with evocative names such as Arabesque, Leone and Fantasia.
For more information and to purchase visit https://www.zardiandzardi.co.uk/fiori-e-leoni-readmore
