A 13th-century Welsh castle gets taken over by the best of this year's new fabric collections
Autumn is upon us, which means designers, brands and fabric houses are dropping this year's exciting new collections of textiles. Each year our decoration team goes all out to produce a brilliant shoot using their favourite new launches, and this year the inspiration was the medieval world, for which they headed to Beaumaris Castle on the Welsh island of Anglesey, and Conwy Castle a little further down the coast of North Wales. ‘We have long had the idea to do a fabric shoot based on a sort of fantasy version of medieval life,’ says our Style Director Ruth Sleightholme. ‘It is a time when textiles were held in such incredibly high regard, when clothing and banners contained such a rich array of meanings and messages. Garments and outfits were complicated, ritualised and precious things; and wall-hangings and tapestries were really significant vehicles for decoration.
’But we also liked all the silliness and camp of the medieval reenactment scene and various TV costume references, so we didn't want this photoshoot to go to too much of an academic place. At first the idea was going to be very 'fancy-dress' / 'medfest', but after spending some time with the paintings in the National Gallery, we saw many beautiful costume details that we wanted to copy, and the shoot took on a more delicate feel. We found an amazing slew of castles in North Wales all built in a very similar style by Edward I in the 13th century, which acted as beautiful backdrops for the fantasy, and we had a lovely time shooting there!’
All fabric and trim prices are per metre. With thanks to Beaumaris Castle and Conwy Castle
1/11- Dress: Sandalwood ‘Morog Jhuti’ linen by Namay Samay, £240, Tissus d’Hélène.
- Sleeve Indigo ‘Morog Jhuti’, as before; with natural/denim ‘Sheer Check’ wool by Tori Murphy, £90, The Fabric Collective.
- Girdle: Indigo ‘Jovie’ linen, £220, Sarah Vanrenen; trimmed in gilded gold ‘Le Jardin’ silk metallic cord, £32; tufts, £73 for 10; and chair tassels, £73 each; all Samuel & Sons.
- Cloak (exterior): Saffron yellow ‘Ori’ linen, £192, Whiteworks; edged in azure cotton mix ‘French Grosgrain Piping’, £21.50, Samuel & Sons; (lining) turmeric ‘Honor’ linen, £256, Octavia Dickinson.
2/11- Fabric: Cardamom ‘Royal Palm’ linen by Raoul Textiles, £282, Turnell & Gigon.
- Shield: (left side) Crimson on white ‘Transistors’ wool mix by Alexander Girard, £665, Maharam; (right side) raspberry ‘Uppark Chenille’ cotton by Thorp of London, £267, Pierre Frey; trimmed in emerald ‘Aria’ silk mix brush fringe, £113, Samuel & Sons.
- Trousers: ‘Astra’ cotton, €534, Fortuny x Tomèf.
3/11- Boots (exterior): Fauve ‘Sukari’ polyester, €103.50, Lelièvre Paris; with amethyst ‘January’ cotton mix key tassels, £104 each, Watts 1874; (lining) old gold ‘Sea Meadow’ linen mix, £154, Chelsea Textiles.
- Cloak: Brown and blue ‘Serpentine Dragon’ cotton mix, £388, Schumacher.
4/11- Border: Topaz citrine ‘Monolith’ silk, £82, Harlequin.
- Corners: ‘Cherry Blossom’ cotton mix by Stefan Gabel, £262, Zimmer + Rohde.
- Round border: Copper ‘Pembroke’ Trevia CS by Vero Fabrics, £99, George Spencer Designs.
- Round panel: Beeswax ‘Atlas Velvet’ linen mix by Sister by Studio Ashby, £243, Yarn Collective.
- Left stag: Bourbon square ‘Casino’ cotton mix, £235, CC Moulton.
- Right stag: Chartreuse/turquoise ‘Vivace’ polyester mix, £75, Osborne & Little.
5/11- Cloak (exterior): Ginger blue ‘Hoopoe’ wool mix, £224, Gainsborough; (lining) blue ‘Havisham’ cotton mix, £154, Chelsea Textiles. Rosette Antique gold aqua ‘Coussey Cinquefoil’ cotton mix, £308, Watts 1874.
- Tunic: Bleu ‘French Cancan’ linen mix by Misia, £256, Casamance; trimmed in gold ‘Gende’ cotton embroidered tape by Texture Fabrics, £240, Altfield.
- Sleeve: Marine blue ‘Coppice Plain’ linen, £95, Ian Mankin. cuff Chamomile and sumac ‘Ramie’ linen, £168, Studio Supple.
- Skirt: Ochre ‘Persian Scroll Embroidery’ cotton, £242, Morris & Co x The Huntington.
6/11- Border: Pale denim ‘Velvet’ cotton by Tori Murphy, £120, The Fabric Collective; trimmed in red/blue ‘Debo’ braid, £24, Susan Deliss.
- Background Fieldspur: ‘Bettina’ linen by Lake August, £220, The Fabric Collective. Serpent (body) Burnt sienna ‘Meander’ linen mix, £139.50, Rapture & Wright; (wings/head) mallard ‘Salt Marsh’ wool mix, £196, Madeaux.
7/11- Dress: ‘Marna Pine’ linen, £200, Robert Kime. Hat ‘West House Trellis’ linen, £380, Flora Soames; trimmed in teal ‘Havisham’ cotton mix, £154, Chelsea Textiles.
- Veil: Ivory ‘Cathrin Sheer’ linen by Fleurons d’Hélène, £178, Tissus d’Hélène.
8/11- Dragons (from left): ‘Clara’ linen, £130, Kate Forman Designs; underside in coral ‘Bracken’ cotton mix, £150, Evitavonni; (right) cinnamon ‘Darjeeling’ linen mix, £154, Nicholas Herbert. Flames: Silver ‘Lucca’ linen, £130, Lindsay Alker.
- Handlers’ tops: (left) Henna and (right) red hut ‘Wild Rice’ linen mix, £142, Lewis & Wood. trousers (left) Shaker ‘Reel Stripe’ cotton mix; and (right) tamarind ‘Olmo’ cotton mix; both £70, Ian Sanderson.
9/11- Cloak: Magma ‘Chimera’ polyester, £180, Black Edition. tunic Salvia ‘Daedalus’ hemp mix by Kieffer, £256, Rubelli. Steel ‘Norman Helmet with Aventail’, £80, English Heritage.
10/11- Border: Spring blue ‘Jaujac Virelle’ linen, £188, Inchyra; edged in gold cotton mix ‘7mm Cord’, £30, Beaumont & Fletcher. Corners Old blue ‘Romilly’ cotton, £122, Colefax and Fowler.
- Outer background panel: Gloucestershire pear ‘Kitchen Garden’ embroidered linen mix, £140, Sanderson x Highgrove.
- Inner background panel: Old gold ‘Tybalt’ silk mix, £430, Watts 1874. Leopard Bleu glacier ‘Foscarini’ viscose mix, £176, Nobilis
11/11- Coif: Indigo ‘Camelia’ linen, £95, Designers Guild. tunic Currant ‘Naren’ cotton by Kettlewell Collection, £529, Tissus d’Hélène. sleeve Lapis ‘Spot’ cotton by Fleurons d’Hélène, £191, Tissus d’Hélène.
- Undershirt: Fiesta Henderson ‘Casino’ cotton mix, £235, CC Moulton. Hat (in hand) Sage ‘Velvet’ cotton by Tori Murphy, £120, The Fabric Collective.
