HISTORY OF A PRINT
A modern floral, inspired by vintage wallpaper. Obus Founder and Creative Director Kylie shares the inspiration and design process behind Legacy Of Change.
Q. Can you describe the inspiration behind the new floral print you've created?
A. I’ve always had a fascination with vintage wallpaper - its ability to transform a room and transport you somewhere instantly. Any mention of wallpaper brings the works of prolific textile designer William Morris of the ‘Arts And Crafts’ movement to mind, as well as Swiss decorative artist Eugene Grasset, a pioneer of Art Nouveau. Both of these designers were so inspiring, and made it onto my mood board for this collection. For this season it was interesting for me to explore symmetry - a super fresh direction for an Obus floral.
Q. Do fashion trends play a part in what kind of print you design?
A. Yes and no haha. We always try to be aware of what’s happening in the wider world of fashion but we don’t like to design for ‘trends’ - we want our prints and designs to stand the test of time. There’s always an element of old and new within the Obus collections, and in this case we’ve been seeing retro florals and geometric prints for a few seasons now, so this print is our interpretation of them.
Q. What techniques or tools did you use to draw the individual floral motifs in the print?
A. I have a background as a Graphic Designer so organically illustrating on an iPad feels natural. It also means I can take it away with me, for some spontaneous creativity that’s not at work. I drew most of the florals in this print on a weekend away with friends.
Q. Once you’ve created the floral elements, what’s the next step in making it into a print?
A. From here I look at layout and arrangement, testing combinations of the flowers. In this particular print I tessellated and reflected them upon themselves. The symmetry of the design is what gives this print its ‘wallpaper’ look.
Q. How did you decide on the colour palette and alternate colourways in this print?
A. This is always the hardest part! We usually trial anyway from 2-to-10 variations before deciding on the final colours in a print. I love lilacs and mauves so wanted to incorporate them - they’re such modern hues and really make this print feel fresh. In the end, we opted for a fresh green base and black base which helped the floral elements and key colours sing!
Q. Do you decide on the fabric and silhouettes before or after the print design?
A. Being such a small business and making in Melbourne means everything kind of happens simultaneously. Certain colours feel more matched to particular fabrics and shapes. eg. Cotton sateen has a lovely drape and natural lustre, so we tend to design a dressier or work piece out of this - and chose the black/mauve colourway in this instance. Dark prints can feel a little heavy on the linen cotton, so the fresh greens were the right choice here.
Q. How would you describe the mood and feel of the final print? How does the name reflect that?
A. It’s ended up as such an elevated, fresh floral for us but also has such a clear vintage feel to it. ’Legacy’ felt like such a nice word to nod at the history and inspiration for this print. Being an Autumn print, the concept of ‘change’ and starting the year off with a new energy is a big part of the mood.
Shop Legacy Of Change Instore or online here.