Jim Thompson drapes Paris

THAI SILK company Jim Thompson was among the 100-plus makers of home-furnishing fabrics that were showing their wares last week as part of Deco Off in Paris, an annual five-day tour of “open houses” straddling both banks of the River Seine.
The event was deliberately scheduled to coincide with the famous Maison & Objet exposition, one of the biggest lifestyle-design gatherings on the planet, and shoppers cheerfully ignored the freezing temperatures of the European winter. 
Showrooms were mapped out for Deco Off browsers, or you could follow a pathway marked by linen lanterns around the rue du Mail on the Right Bank and Saint-Germain-des-Pres on the Left. 

Jim Thompson’s Paris store is in Saint Germain des Pres.

Luxury brands Christian Lacroix, Ralph Lauren and Hermes were represented, as was Jim Thompson, whose shop on the rue de Furstenberg in Saint-Germain des Pres is decorated for the Chinese New Year with lion-dance wall coverings. Also on view is Leo De Janeiro, the latest collection inspired by a mythical lion that promises good fortune.
The dazzling line is the work of celebrated designer Noppadol “Ou” Baholyodhin, who’s used a rich carnival whirl of colours on lightweight satin to give classic chinoiserie motifs a fresh take. 

The Leo De Janeiro wall covering by Jim Thompson does its own lion dance for the Lunar New Year.

“Jim Thompson,” he said – referring to the American founder of the firm – “fell in love with Asian arts and festivals. With this collection I’ve gone back to the firm’s DNA and asked, ‘What did Jim do during this season?’ The lion dance was one of his favourite spectacles, but of course ‘Jim’s lion’ must be embedded with playful elements.”

Tropical flowers add to the fabric’s appeal, particularly the heliconia that thrives at Jim Thompson House in Bangkok, where the plant reaches nearly three metres in height. Ou has cultivated it against a neutral background on embroidered, unbleached linen, aided by a computer but relying as always chiefly on manual skills.

This Ming Ming silk jacquard wall panel takes its cues from the decorations on an antique lacquered cabinet at the Jim Thompson House in Bangkok. 

An intricate, oriental motif adorning a lacquered cabinet at Jim Thompson House inspired his Ming Ming series, featuring an opulent silk jacquard that’s at once vivid and subtle and accentuates the depth of the colour and sheen in Jim Thompson silk 
It’s important that “the legend of Jim and his art archives” be incorporated into the textiles the firm markets, said Ou, its creative director for home furnishings.
“Jim revived the Thai silk industry by introducing vibrant colours, and now I’ve managed to extend his palette. Our East-meets-West style is distinctive, and we dare to play with bold colours and sophisticated exotic patterns. The silk we produce no longer has that dry feel, but is instead soft to the touch. It flows better, so it’s ideal for contemporary decoration.”

The bright woven stripes of Corsica fabric enliven Jim Thompson’s first outdoor collection.

For Deco Off, Jim Thompson unveiled its first outdoor collection, based on the founder’s love of travelling to historic destinations. 
Evoking the swank life of the French Riviera, Negresco upholstery fabric is plain-woven in an intricate twill-basket construction using Dralon, a micro-fibre made from durable acrylic yarn.Camargue utilises rich velvet suitable for the outdoors, in hazy jewel tones. Corsica’s woven ribbon bands in bright tones bring to mind a summer vacation among the islands of the Mediterranean.

Negresco outdoor collection

Jim Thompson fabrics have adorned home furnishings sold internationally for more than three decades. The brand also has stores in London, Atlanta in the US and Munich, Germany, and distribution nodes in more than 40 countries.
“In Thailand we’re perceived as a maker of personal wares much more than home textiles,” said Mai Timblick, director of international sales. “Our big markets for home furnishings are in the US, France, Britain, Italy, Spain and Germany – all places that have a history of interior designing with fabrics, in curtains, wall coverings, furniture and bedspreads. 
“The Thai market represents less than 10 per cent of our total because people there haven’t yet explored this aspect of home furnishings.”

Decorating the home with fabrics isn’t part of Thai culture, Ou concurred. “Traditionally we lived in a wooden house and reclined against cushions on a wooden floor, and using textiles as decoration wasn’t even considered. Even with today’s modern houses, people tend to lack the confidence to try it.”
That might change soon. Jim Thompson is refurbishing its store on Bangkok’s Surawong Road ready to showcase the full range of products, with entire rooms set out so that customers can see what’s possible. 
“There are a lot of sophisticated Thais who’ve travelled abroad and who pick up ideas from home-decor magazines,” Mai said. “They’re interested in interior design since their residences represent status symbols.”
And Thais increasingly want to distinguish their homes from others, Ou added. “They don’t want to live in a housing estate where every house is painted the same beige shade and decorated with an L-shaped sofa. Home furnishings can make all the difference.”

No 9’s Mid-Century series gets its kicks from abstract expressionism.

With their varied patterns and hues, Jim Thompson fabrics can be tricky to mix and match, but its sister brand, No 9 Thompson, makes the task easier, and last year the firm also acquired British brand Fox Linton, which makes high-quality textiles from natural yarns in neutral tones.
In Paris, items from both No 9 and Fox Linton are on display in a pop-up store directly opposite the Jim Thompson showroom on rue de Furstenberg. The latest No 9 collection takes its cues for patterns and colours from 1950s and ’60s art movements. 

Fontana and Zee Urchin lines

Italian artist Lucio Fontana, who famously slashed and stabbed his canvases, lends his surname to one line, while the wild contortions of abstract expressionism are mimicked in the Mid-Century series. The idea, said British designer Richard Smith of No 9, is “let’s enjoy life and have fun with fabrics”. 
“Geometric patterns within the weave can give a room a crisp and graphic edge,” he said while showing off brightly coloured linked hexagons on a textured ground cloth, a nod to pop art.

In contrast, Fox Linton keeps things simple while making grand use of luxury textiles produced in an eco-friendly process. Cotton is woven in such a way that it has a silky effect, spun silk wool achieves a liquid feel, and mohair velvet glows with a beautiful sheen. 

The Coco Shells collection by Elitis uses actual coconut shells from the Philippines in an eyecatching mosaic. (courtesy of Elitis)

Next door is French brand Elitis, which specialises in wall coverings made with unusual materials. Its Coco Shells collection has a pattern of small checks and shards of actual coconut shells from the Philippines – cut and painted by hand and assembled in a mosaic on netting.
“We always cultivate new material. We make it possible,” said designer Marie Papillaud.
Coconut fibre is also woven into fabrics to create gorgeous stripes and an intriguing embossed texture, while Japanese washi paper is crumpled, pleated and creased for a lace patchwork effect.

Gaston y Daniela applies the striking colours of primitive textiles in its Africalia line.

Spanish brand Gaston y Daniela gets the striking colours of its Africalia collection from primitive African textiles. “Some are developed from ‘mud cloth’ – bogolan – a cotton cloth that’s a symbol of cultural identity in Mali, and other designs come from the Congo,” said sales director Miguel Angel Guisado.

Customers get lost among the multitude of fabrics and colours in the Pierre Frey showroom.

Across the river, French firm Pierre Frey’s shop is crowded with customers, drawn by its remarkable ikat and batik fabrics, wonderfully pleated and embroidered and in every imaginable colour. 
The Maoming line borrows the indigo and other hues found in the embroidered textiles of the Miao people of Guizhou, China.