Contract Magazine - July 2020 - 36

FEATURE

Catherine Stowell
Design Director
Designtex

What was the inspiration for your new collections that launched during
NeoConnect?
Raia and Encircle are two new upholstery coated fabrics designed to bring
balance to our environments through the use of materials that reference the
restorative patterns, forms, textures, and colors of nature. One of our guiding
principals at Designtex is the symbiotic relationship between beauty and utility.
We wanted material performance to be at the core of these collections and, from
there, we explored many different materials and techniques to elicit the mood,
feel, and colors we were after. There is an element of surprise with pattern Pixel
Cloud, for example. Looking closely, you see an intricate woven construction with
yarns and colors mixing in a complex way. But from a distance, an allover organic
pattern emerges. We wanted to see how we could push the limits of highperformance materials.
How do fabrics like Raia and Encircle perform?
Raia and Encircle were created to meet the most stringent needs of healthcare
environments, which include constant use, high durability and the ability to
withstand the usage of healthcare-grade cleaners and disinfectants, while still
maintaining their organic, biophilic design aesthetics. In regards, to SARS-CoV-2,
the virus that causes COVID-19, we have tested a range of our materials-over
180 of our designs, in fact-to withstand disinfectants on the EPA's N List.

Designtex's Pixel Cloud (top)
is a large-scale, textural
pattern inspired by cloud-like
formations seen in both the
neutral world and in our everexpanding digital environment.
It is available in six colors.

How did you pick the colors for Plexus and Pixel Cloud?
When coloring a pattern, we often know the color formula for the pattern and
likely have some colors in mind. The designer then writes up a color blanket
which specifies the placement and color of each yarn. There is a little alchemy
to color work, and it is essential to get a real sample woven. Not only should
the colors balance well together in a pattern, but they have to feel right for the
pattern. Pixel Cloud and Plexus share an underpinning of several cool neutrals
balanced with strong primary color. We adjust the colors until we feel that they
work-the heathered gray in the ground in Plexus complements the formality
of the angled shapes and lines of the bold red, yellow, or blue. The slight luster
of the neutral in Pixel Cloud is just dressy enough to embrace the pixelated
forms in bright blue, yellow, and orange.

Raia (above), available in
seven colors, and Encircle
(left), available in six colors,
are two new high-performing
upholstery coated fabrics.
They are designed to bring
balance to our environments
through the use of materials
that reference the restorative
patterns, forms, textures, and
colors of nature.
Plexus (bottom) is a largescale, geometric inspired
by the shapes found in and
human perspectives of
architecture. Each of the five
color options is composed of
a warm or cool neutral ground
with colored accents intended
to play well with corporate
palettes.

While you've been working from home, what have you been inspired by
that might become part of a future collection?
This pandemic has turned the world upside down. It's a profound and
heartbreaking disruption that the world is just beginning to comprehend. Beauty
and utility are always central to our products and SARS-CoV-2 has us working
hard for the utility. I am lucky to work with Sara Balderi who leads our healthcare
efforts at Designtex. She and her team have a deep knowledge of material
expectations in healthcare environments and we are working closer than ever
to thoughtfully and appropriately apply that knowledge to materials for other
spaces like corporate offices or hospitality.

contractdesign.com

JULY 2020

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Contract Magazine - July 2020

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