French Collection, Milton & King

French Collection

My inspiration for this collection stems right back to my fine art roots, studding classical art, from its architecture to its textiles.

I wanted to put a more modern but still timeless approach to this collection, so I found inspiration from classic archival wallpaper books, featuring tiny hand painted geometrics patterns and exotic tropical fruits and birds, to modern designers like Kelly Wearstler.

I love Wearstler's use of colour and textures, I actually used her interiors for my colour inspiration for this collection.

Pomegranate

I wanted to create a large floral as my show stopper. I came up with a flowing scalloped stripe with over layering floral scrolling its way up.

I used Pomegranates as the mane motifs, for in the 1700's artists and designers alike were inspired by all the tropical fruits that were starting to be imported from around the world.

They were very expensive so they became a symbol of wealth, so as a result started to appear in all forms of art.

Fern

This weaving in and out pattern was appearing in a lot of the 1700s wallpaper designs. I decided to strip back the florals from the design and simply take the foundations as my inspiration.

Like all my designs, I hand painted this first, creating a more organic pattern with rough textures. I think this design is raw but still timeless. its my favourite in the collection.

Tropicana

This design is inspired by the tropical birds that started to appear in wallpaper and textiles during the 1700's. Like foreign fruit, birds with all new patterns and colours were coming from all around the world inspiring artists and designers alike.

I wanted to create a floral that captured their excitement for these new species. I also noticed lots of the designs from this era had a tropical feel to their flora.

I chose delicate fan palms, ferns and crested parrots. I wanted this design to be more modern so I stripped it of any colour, painting it all in white. I think this makes it more elegant and versatile.

Petite

Petite is my interpretation of the sweet geometrics that were ever so present in the archival books that I was researching.

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This was a hard pattern to create, simply because there were so many motifs to draw inspiration from.

I ended up going more simple, not too feminine so its a versatile design. I added the dots in the background because they appeared in so many of the designs of this era, I think in the end they bring this design together

Sun Light Star Bright

Louis the 14th was called the "Sun King", he chose the sun himself as a young man as his emblem. The sun is the Syble of Apollo, the god of peace and the Arts.

Its also the star that gives life to all things. Rising and setting with unfailing regularity.

This design was a tribute to Louis X1V who was the longest reining monarch or all European history, who dedicated most of that time to the arts and putting France on the world map.