By Design : Very Velvet : The Lush, Plush Fabric Is Taking Many Forms, From Gowns to Pillows to Purses
The word velvet brings to mind Miss Scarlett’s plush green drapery dress, lowrider dashboards, Elvis portraits and a song about the fabric in blue.
And when Kenneth Downing, creative director for Neiman Marcus, thought about how to do holiday decor for the Beverly Hills store, he zeroed in on its luxurious image, draping displays and covering chair seats in hues from bright cherry to deep plum. His inspirations: panne velvet clothes by Dolce & Gabbana and the Gothic film “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.”
Those who want to follow his lead will find all kinds of stores happy to oblige this season with velvets of diverse characters. Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York and Laura Ashley are brimming with velvet clothes, and so are the more affordable Banana Republic and J. Crew. Accessories run the gamut from a sweet little black drawstring bag, $28, at Kenneth Cole in West Hollywood to a brown velvet wrap meant to look like a ‘50s mink stole, $895, at Barneys.
Designer Richard Tyler mixes velvet with satin and embroidered fabrics. Jil Sander pairs it with sheers. Hot new L.A. designer Jane Booke renders cut velvet and machine-washable silk velvet into daytime clothes as comfortable as sweats. Her clothes are so appealing, enthuses fashion stylist Vivian Turner, that celebrities from Joanna Kerns to Sheena Easton have asked to purchase the velvets worn on photo shoots. Theodore in Beverly Hills and Comme Des Fous in Los Angeles also carry Booke.
Interior designers in Los Angeles have long been stingy with velvet, relegating it to the occasional accent pillow. But its reputation as a cold-weather fabric may be slipping. Costume designer Barbara Tfank covered everything in her West Hollywood apartment with velvet, and sniffs at the notion that it’s unsuitable for this climate. In its most humble form “it’s just clipped cotton,” she says.
The stores Modern Living, Dialogica and Blueprint, all in Los Angeles, and the Gallery of Functional Art in Santa Monica offer curvy, cartoony chairs, sofas and ottomans in velvet and velveteen. Odalisque, the anachronistic interior design shop on Beverly Boulevard near Tyler Trafficante, makes one-of-a-kind pillows and beddings from its stash of antique velvets. Down the street, Carl’s Custom Lamps & Shades creates velvet lamp shades to order.
On the more affordable end, Bed Bath & Beyond in the Beverly Center has moderately priced velvet pillows and duvet covers. And the November issue of Martha Stewart Living tells readers how to make velvet frames.
Only decorators can get their hands on the most beautiful and expensive velvets from Scalamandre, Clarence House and J. Robert Scott, but do-it-yourselfers will find bolts of beautiful velvets at Oriental Silk Imports, International Silks & Woolens and Diamond Foam & Fabric, all in Los Angeles.
