Born in San Francisco, Fassett (above) grew up in a artistic community of Big Sur, California, before hopping across to pond to make his fortune as an artist in London during the swinging sixties.There, his intuitive grasp of colour and willingness to bend the rules of traditional knitwear and textile construction launched his career as one of the most creative and out-there practitioners of the craft, and got him noticed by print-loving labels like Missoni.

A Life In Colour is Fassett’s first exhibition since a retrospective at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1988, features over 100 works within a dramatic installation designed by Sue Timney. Rugs, blankets, dresses, shawls, cushions – name the knitwear, and chances are Fassett has put his own acid-coloured spin on it. Below, Fassett tells us more about his illustrious career.

This is an amazing exhibition, could you tell us more about it?

It is 50 years of work in this exhibition, starting from my very first sweater – all the colour explorations through knitting, needlepoint, patchwork and quilt. Basically, what I’m always doing is trying to understand colour and trying to make it more vibrant, sexy and juicy. Interestingly, when I first started to paint, I was always doing white paintings – everything was monochrome. But I grew out of that and fell in love with Indian prints and Persian miniatures: the little flowers against paisley, against stripes, against checkerboards… All of that really appealed to me. When I look at a fashion designer like Kenzo, he has the same feeling and aura – and Christian Lacroix, he loved romantic patterns and so do I.

So besides colours, what else inspires you?

Patterns! How else are you going to organize that colour to make it exciting? I look to old Roman mosaics and ancient Japanese kabuki costumes, things which have these fantastic scenes of patterns.

You once collaborated with Missoni, what was that like?

Fabulous! When I first took my first piece of knitting (a sweater) to British Vogue, they said that it was beautiful and very unusual. The editor then, Judy Brittan, said: “One day you will be designing for Missoni”. The very first garment I had in British Vogue was photographed by David Bailey, and when Vogue came out, I got a call from Missoni the next day. They understood my sense of colour and their colours are absolutely beautiful and immediately, I was not nervous ’cause I knew they spoke my language!

Do you experiment with different techniques to achieve the colours and fabrics you want?

Absolutely. When I started to knit, I was known for mixing things that I shouldn’t – man-made fibers with old scratchy yarn that was used from carpets. I’d take silk and chenille and mohair and mix it all up. Nobody did that in the early 70s. Everything was by hand and of course I had to get fast.

You seem to treat your craft as a friend, almost like a lifelong companion.

It’s my solace. I use to be very social, but when I started to knit, all of those that just fell away. I was on fire, I had all these ideas and I wanted to stay home and get them done. I wanted to knit the next big throw for my bed, the next big coat, the next big fabulous dress, I couldn’t stop. It made me realize I’m happy with my own company and there’s not many things in the world that can make you that way. So when people say knitting has changed their life, I know what they mean!

The last exhibition you did was 25 years ago. What made you do another one?

It was during my autobiography. It took me three years to decide how to write my own biography, what stories am I going to tell, what am I going to leave out. The book contains 500 pictures of my work and I thought that people should see the actual thing, so I called up the museum.

Do you still get inspired by the language of fashion?

Occasionally, if I see something that’s colourful. I’d like people to be more adventurous with colour; I’ve travelled to Japan, India, Guatemala and Africa, where they love colour. I often don’t agree with fashion; it’s sad when fashion tends to be grey, which it has been for quite a while.

Kaffee Fassett: A Life In Colour runs from now till 29 June at the Fashion and Textile Museum, London. ftmlondon.org

Words: James Lennon Tan

The post A LIFE IN COLOUR: Kaffee Fassett interview appeared first on Wonderland.

You started out in the fashion industry as a model – how did you come to be a print designer?

I’ve always drawn since I was tiny. Then, when I was travelling the world as a lonely model, I took a journal with me and filled it with sketches. I enjoyed the modelling lifestyle for a while, but I was never really that into it and never really that good at it. So when I made some friends from art school I ditched modelling full-time to pursue that. I much preferred art school to the Chinawhite party scene that typified the modelling world at the time.

How did animal and botanical prints come to be the defining motif of your designs so far?

I’ve always been inspired by nature. Growing up in Scotland, we used to holiday in our caravan along the west coast. I dreamt of one day owning my own caravan and realised my dream when I purchased a 1960s Cheltenham to contain my final degree piece for Chelsea Art School. This is where my obsession for cats broke out. My degree piece was called ‘The Catavan’ with over 30 design prints dedicated to cats. Not an inch was left bare. It was so much fun to create, but sadly my Catavan was stolen from outside my Hackney studio…

How are the scarves produced?

Well, the process starts with my drawings. I normally use pen rather than pencil for a stronger line. I then manipulate the drawings on Photoshop and Illustrator, adding colour and positioning the images in a design I’m excited about. The designs are then sent to be digitally printed here in the UK and are finished in east London, and I collect the samples on my bike to save on postage!

Who are your inspirations?

I recently went to see ‘The Eye Has To Travel’, about Diana Vreeland’s life. Wow. She’s amazing! I don’t think I want to be like her, but she is fascinating to watch and to listen to. I would love to be able to talk that slowly and precisely and rule every room.

Silk scarves can carry connotations of older women, or a bygone era. How do you like to see your products worn today?

I’m obsessed with the 1970s, everyone wore a scarf back then. I own a magnificent book from that decade called ‘The Naughty Look’, that shows hundreds of ways of using a scarf, most of which are pretty awful. But I like that a scarf has so many uses. A perfect silk square where you can display your personal take on life. I’ve framed a few, and I wear them on my head or round my neck. I think everyone should own a scarf.

The scarves come with a poem each and have witty names – is a sense of humour important to your designs?

There were parts of the fashion industry I was happy to opt out of when I stopped modelling. I think when people take themselves too seriously they can become a little boring and shallow. I didn’t really want to go back into that world again, but here I am on the other side. I want to design and create objects that make people smile, and a kitten riding a unicorn on a sea of tie-dye makes me smile.

You can purchase Silken Favours scarves from Liberty or from www.silkenfavours.com.

Words: Olivia Gagan

The post SILKEN FAVOURS: Vicki Murdoch talks cats on scarves appeared first on Wonderland.

Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself…

Rhonda & Lulu: We opened Darkroom in late 2009, and have since worked really hard to find unusual items that are not already represented in London. We choose by product, style and design rather than designer: we are rarely label led. We like to source our products from a mixture of established and up-and-coming designers so that they fit within the Darkroom aesthetic, which is very distinctive and often quite hard-edged and geometric.

Camille, how did your love of textiles and print begin?

Camille: I have been fascinated by bright patterns since my teens. I grew up with two different styles: with the Memphis-style design pieces in my Dad’s house in Paris, and my Mum’s Provence house which we decorated with warm, Mediterranean colours and African patterns. So in my head I think I’ve always mixed the two together.

Can you explain your interest with the Ndebele tribe in particular?

Camille: Funnily enough, I only really discovered the Ndebele tribe when I went to a talk which Rhonda did during David David’s pop-up last year. She talked about how African tribes influence fashion and textiles, and as soon as she started talking about the Ndebele tribe my heart started beating really fast and it was like love at first sight! The style really appealed to me. I love everything about it.

Rhonda: I've collected African fabrics for many years, and so it was something that we naturally brought into the Darkroom aesthetic. I like the way the vibrancy of the textiles and colour palettes found in Africa work so well alongside contemporary Western design. The contrast really creates a dialogue between all the products we present.

Why did you choose to collaborate with each other?

Camille: I’ve always loved Darkroom, and then after I designed the bar at XOYO I got an email from Rhonda titled ‘we like your work’ and my first thought was ‘no, that has to be spam, this can’t be real!’, but it was real and the girls really did love my work and asked me to collaborate with them. So that’s how it all started…

Rhonda & Lulu: Camille seems to immerse her high-octane, colourful prints into every project she undertakes, and we love her on-going desire to put a smile on people’s faces.

Where would you most like to see your creations?

Camille: I would love to see my mix of patterns and colours on Brutalism buildings all over London. I’d like to brighten them up a bit! I love their shapes, but I think some of them could do with a bit of a Walala touch; especially when the sky is grey. One day…

Have you got any exciting plans or collaborations for the future?

Camille: I discovered these Slovenian designers recently (www.kitsch-nitsch.com) and have fallen in love with their work: they are doing things out there that I feel so connected to. I actually got so excited I sent them a Facebook message to let them know, and they said the love was reciprocal – hurray! So they don’t know it yet, but I can be quite convincing, and I want them to come over for a collaboration on some interior designs for bars and club nights in London. Watch this space!

Darkroom will be hosting a pop-up store at Design Junction throughout the London Design Festival, in the 1960s Sorting Office in W1. www.darkroomlondon.com

Words: Samantha Southern

The post T-R-I-B-A-L-A-L-A: Textiles ahoy appeared first on Wonderland.