Hasta La Ideas

Heal’s has launched its first own-brand fabric collection since the 1970s, featuring patterns from Malika Favre, Petra Börner and Hvass and Hannibal as well as archived designs by Zandra Rhodes and the late Diana Bloomfield.

The re-launched business will combine work from young designers with updated versions of patterns sold in the 1950s and 60s. Hvass and Hannibal, Favre and Börner were commissioned by illustration agency Outline Artists and have created some colourful floral-themed designs.

Hvass and Hannibal’s Herbarium (top) is inspired by forests and pressed flower samples, while Börner’s Lady Jane references horticultural images found in vintage books. Börner created the design using layers of coloured paper which was then photographed and interpreted digitally.

Favre’s geometric print, Peacock Flower, was inspired by peacocks she saw wandering the grounds of a hotel in the French Riveria. “I wanted to do something fun, playful and summery,” she says.

The first archive patterns to be re-worked for the collection, which launched in stores on Saturday, are Zandra Rhodes Top Brass 2 and Diana Bloomfield’s Tea Time (both below).

Rhodes designed the pattern while studying the Royal College of Art in 1963. Bloomfield’s work was designed in the 1950s and updated for the collection with help from her grand-daughter Julia.

Pia Benham, Heal’s head of fabric and design said the collection aimed to “inject fun and excitement into Heal’s fabric design once again” by combining contemporary patterns with those inspired by the brand’s heritage.

Fabrics were priced at £45 per metre and Heal’s has also launched a co-ordinating accessory line, 1810, which features textiles, cushions and stationery.

It’s nice to see a brand reclaiming a business that used to champion the work of emerging designers, and even better to see collaborations with illustrators as well as textile designers.