The Collier Campbell Archive: 50 Years of Passion in Pattern - Hardcover

Shackleton, Emma; Campbell, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1908150823 ISBN 13: 9781908150820

Publisher: Ilex Gift, 2012

Synopsis

For nearly fifty years, sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell have been at the forefront of textile design. Collections for London’s Liberty department store made their name, with designs like Bauhaus (1972) deemed a significant turning point, paving the way for a vibrant new aesthetic. Their work at this point included prints, furnishing and dress textiles, and famously Liberty’s noted scarves, and many of their designs were widely licenced and became ubiquitous.

By the late 1970s, they had added wallpaper designs to their repertoire, and in 1979 established themselves as an independent partnership (their work for Liberty had been marketed uncredited). Their client list includes names like Yves St Laurent, habitat, and Marks & Spencer, and the quality of their work has been recognized by the V&A Museum in London (where 33 of their designs are held in the permanent collection). A long-term US association with Martex saw their patterns grace widely distributed designer bedding—which even made an appearance in Seinfeld. A successful attempt to develop their brand saw them broaden this client base, and sales in the US are now worth millions of dollars annually.

All of their patterns have been preserved. Staggering in its scale (over 25,000 patterns to date) the Collier- Campbell Archive is the permanent record of this astonishingly fruitful collaboration.
It is from here that the imagery of THE COLLIER –CAMPBELL ARCHIVE will be drawn. Hundreds of designs—some obscure, many instantly recognizable—will form an essential reference for designers, fashionistas and students alike. There will be exclusive commentary from Collier and Campbell themselves, and the voices of key collaborators and experts in the field will cement their deserved reputation as one of the key creative partnerships in modern design.

About this title

About the Author

Sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell are award-winning textile designers, who started out at Liberty in the 70s and built a global business producing designs for customers as diverse as Yves Saint Laurent (they designed the fabrics for his first ready-to-wear ‘Gypsy’ collection), Habitat, Jaeger, Marks and Spencer and House of Fraser among others.

Their work spans fashion, accessories and the home. Their award winning hand-painted designs and vibrant use of colour have created a unique look that has both couture and mass-market appeal. Their technique of hand-painting their designs gives a rich graduation of colour and movement in their fabrics which could not be achieved by more technical means.

They have amassed a vast Archive of their successful and iconic designs which have been exhibited by the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Museum of London and the Whitworth Museum in Manchester among others, and are cited in many works about 20th Century design. Their Six Views Collection, which won the Design Centre Award in 1984, included their iconic best-selling Cote d’Azur design. Responding to a whole new generation of consumers who are once again turning to pattern and colour in their clothes and furnishings, Collier Campbell will launch a range of products under their name in 2011. The range will include scarves, bags, bedding, cushions, etc to produce a lifestyle look. The launch of their new range will coincide with the celebration of their 50th Anniversary.

Reviews

Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell were much more than designing women as this weighty coffee table-style archive ably demonstrates. Textile painters who were recognized as energetic and vibrant colorists, the British-born sisters were known for their "painterly approach" using visible brushmarks, harmonious treatment of colors, and skill with pattern repeat. During walks with their parents, the two were keen observers of nature and color. Later they drew particular inspiration from gardens, folksy ceramics, even pieces of antique fabric; among their favorite theme motifs were the tree of life, florals, leaves, birds and butterflies, landscapes, ikats (a dye technique), and geometrics. At the height of their careers in the 1970s and 1980s, the sisters found fame with the iconic "Cote d'Azur", "Bauhaus", and "Tambourine" designs, as well as Yves Saint Laurent's "Rive Gauche" collection and exotic ikat-inspired motifs for clothing, wallpaper, home furnishings, and carpet. Susan died at age 72 in 2011; Sarah still designs under her own name. Their design archive comprises some 30,000 pieces of artwork, sketches, notes and samples; Shackleton and Campbell culled the highlights from the collection, while providing anecdotal narrative and large, colorful images of their most popular patterns for a pleasing book.

British sisters Susan Collier and Sarah Campbell became famous for textile design, with their oversize florals, bright colors, and bold prints widely licensed in the UK for both home decor and fashion (Americans may be most familiar with their work for Liberty of London). The Collier Campbell archives hold more than 30,000 items—including patterns, sketches, and samples—and this oversize volume contains hundreds of gorgeous images culled from the collection. Commentary from the sisters and experts in the industry adds interest. A must-have for academic or special libraries with fashion and design collections. Public libraries where there is an interest in fashion or decor will also want to add this hefty, beautifully presented book. --Rebecca Vnuk

Edition details

• Publisher: Ilex Gift
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908150823
• ISBN 13: 9781908150820
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320