Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for review purposes. I was not financially compensated for this post. All opinions are my own and based on my own experience.
I’ll first say that I am not a student of interior design, nor am I any kind of expert in textile design. However, as a curator and fashion historian, I recognize the value in harboring a broad assortment of interests because you never know where inspiration will come from or how random connections will materialize. I attended and spoke at the Textile Society of America 17th Biennial Symposium back in October and one of the many excellent research presentations I heard was about a collection of Russian textiles that were amassed by Natalia Shabelsky, a Russian noblewoman, in the 19th century. Several pieces of embroidery from Shabelsky’s collection eventually found their way into the hands and home of textile designer Nathalie Farman-Farma whose appreciation for Russian embroidery and textiles mirrors Shabelsky’s. Several weeks later, this anecdote was still ringing in my ears when Farman-Farma’s new book arrived on my porch.
Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma is an over-sized coffee table book that showcases snippets of Farman-Farma’s personal passions and how they influence her work. In the introduction, she explains that this book “is the journal of an excavation into what makes taste personal” and an appeal for readers to “see pattern as one of the most beautiful expressions of human connectivity.” With beautiful photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna, readers get a charming and intimate sense of pattern, color, and texture that translates overwhelmingly into the appreciation and love that the designer holds for cultural dress and craft work. The book takes readers through her childhood home in Greenwich, Connecticut, her family’s vacation home in Lake Tahoe, California, and her studio and townhouse in London, England. Throughout the book are wonderful photo-spreads of cozy corners and themed library shelves from inside Farman-Farma’s homes and close ups of various material culture items that she has collected over the years against the backdrop of her richly designed interiors.
I always appreciate the opportunity to see how artists, designers, and makers of all kinds source their inspiration. Farman-Farma’s interest in the influence of Russian painter Léon Bakst and the Ballet Russes on the European decorative arts world in the early twentieth century runs parallel to my own, so there was a spark of familiarity and thrill of shared enthusiasm when I came to the entry on the Ballets Russes. Natalia Shabelsky, mentioned earlier, and her collecting habits are the focus of the Russian embroidery section which features a complimenting image of the framed embroideries (from Shabelsky’s collection) that Farman-Farma owns against her own textile designs. It is fascinating to see Farman-Farma’s proclivities for collecting cultural dress and other objects of material culture translate into tangible textiles that have subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, references to them. She writes about (and then supplements with sweeping imagery) a variety of pieces including men’s tunics from Khevsuett to Russian headscarves to porcelain from Central Asia that adorn her homes and offer abundant inspiration for her textiles. She offers intriguing historical and cultural tidbits about the pieces she has collected, fostering curiosity on the reader’s behalf. The intention of the book is not to detail the history of every category of object featured, but the broad mentions of specific moments or characteristics of material cultural history do allow a larger appreciation of the designer’s influences on specific designs that she has created. Overall this book is a pleasant glimpse into Farman-Farma’s points of reference with lightly contextualized visuals.
I will surely add this book to the soaring pile of beautifully photographed design books that are currently supporting a tasteful- if not teetering- assemblage of knick-knacks on my own shelf. Décors Barbares is a perfect holiday gift for anyone who surrounds themselves with the spoils of their travels and indulges in lavishing their home with the vibrancy of pattern.
Décors Barbares: The Enchanting Interiors of Nathalie Farman-Farma
By Nathalie Farman-Farma
Photography by Miguel Flores-Vianna
Foreword by David Netto
Published in September 2020 by Vendome Press
240 pages, h/bk US $60
ISBN: 978-0-86565-389-4
All images courtesy of Vendome Press
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