Baron & Larcher Textiles

Michal Silver Sarah Burns

BARRON

&

LA RC H E R Textile Designers

Above, Skate, from Barron and Larcher’s Sample Book.

Opposite, private Florida residence by Kara Hebert Interiors. Armchair and cushions in Skate. Following spread, Palm Beach Mustique, Samantha Knapp for Tiger Lily’s Greenwich. Sofas in Fleming. Contemporary prints of Barron and Larcher designs by Christopher Farr Cloth.

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Fleming, length, dyed with indigo and printed with discharge. Opposite, Carnac in brown, printed length.

S ET T I NG T H E S C E N E J E A N VA C H E R

B A R RO N A N D LA RC H E R F O R M E D A U N I Q U E PARTNERSH IP, SEEI NG THE PROCES S THROUGH F RO M D E S I G N TO T H E F I N I S H E D P I EC E .

I

t is the late 1920s and Phyllis Barron has been

stuff, all made by myself, and I don’t think that

asked by Detmar Blow, architectural advisor

she had ever in her life seen so much hand sewing,

to the Duke of Westminster, to visit the

which she really quite appreciated. She thought the

Duke at his hunting lodge near Bordeaux. She

whole affair rather amusing, and ordered cushions

has two suitcases full of long patterns suitable

for her Paris garden.1

for curtains. On showing these to the Duke, she is introduced to Coco Chanel. This proved to

Yet in their different fields, both were

be an interesting and brief flirtation between

pioneering women and modernists, and the

haute couture and modern craft that Barron later

timeless quality of their designs has outlived them.

recalled in the following terms:

There always has been an appetite for a revival of Barron and Larcher patterns, an appetite now

Mademoiselle Chanel, who was then living

being met through a collaborative project between

with him, was very interested. I think she thought

the Crafts Study Centre at the University for the

I was a very queer sort of person – she couldn’t

Creative Arts, which holds a pre-eminent collection

understand why I should want to do this strange

of their work, and Christopher Farr Cloth.

thing. I was dressed as usual entirely in my own

During the 1920s and 1930s, Phyllis Barron (1890–1964) and Dorothy Larcher (1882–1952)

Opposite, printing block for Chanel.

were at the forefront of a revival in hand block-

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B A R R O N & LA RC H E R

Take the print ‘Chanel’ and all the tales that surround its hound’s tooth motif with an unconventional indigo dab setting it apart. The print was designed for Coco Chanel, the iconic French fashion designer, but is it as straightforward and simple as that? Commissioned privately by Chanel and naturally named as such – well yes – or is there something more within the print about the nature of Chanel herself alongside Chanel the designer sparking the creative imaginations of the two makers of the print ‘Chanel’, injecting and projecting something unique in the Coco Chanel they saw and felt into the print mix?

I considered the design and its function, cushions for her Paris flat, its garden seats, an upholstery commission – covering luxurious folding mattresses. It was said by Phyllis how much Chanel adored and wondered at the minutely detailed and hand-finished stitching, how she never tired of knowing how they were made. But look again at their design, it doesn’t speak of comfort or luxury; it’s bold, edgy and dislocated like an old Gillette razor. e Jane Weir – 2017 e

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B A R R O N & LA RC H E R

Barron and Larcher made this wedding suit for their friend Eve Simmonds.

It was made from honey-coloured velvet printed with Peach in black.

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THE PRINTMAKERS’ PERSPECTIVES

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THE PRINTMAKERS’ PERSPECTIVES

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BARRON

&

LA RC H E R Phyllis Barron and Dorothy Larcher were designer-makers who pushed the boundaries of textiles and hand blockprinting techniques. Resourceful and innovative, they ran a successful business from 1923 until the start of World War II, boasting clients such as Coco Chanel, the Duke of Westminster, Girton College, Cambridge, and Winchester Cathedral.

ISBN: 978-1-85149-920-5

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