When Nathalie Farman-Farma purchased a ravishing 19th-century Russian fabric in 2000, her first thought was a rather practical one: to make pillows. “Objects become so much more interesting when they’re put to use,” says the French-raised, London-based collector and designer, who recently moved into a charming new Chelsea studio. “The problem with old textiles is that after six months of people sitting on them, they fray; the fiber is too dry.”
Farman-Farma’s solution: Reimagine them. Since 2010 she has been printing enchanting fabrics inspired by her favorite folk traditions from Eastern Europe and northern Asia—Turkmen robes, Russian pinafores, Slavic embroidery—under the moniker Décors Barbares. For the Andrinople print, she had elements of that crimson Russian pattern redrawn and transferred onto a cotton that was then dyed Turkey red using an ancient technique.
Next, she notes, “I’m thinking of doing something based on this skirt I saw in Krakow.” She pulls up an iPhone photo of a buoyant white getup decorated with sweet red flowers. “Wouldn’t it be great as café curtains?” That’s the way Farman-Farma works—function first. “I always ask myself two questions,” she says. “Does it make me dream? And, How would I use it?”decorsbarbares.com
