Tulips in Silks
During the Netherlands’ tulip bubble period, the stripy Semper Augustus with its’ “broken bulb” was among the rarest and most valuable.
As a centre piece of this surface pattern designs it is enveloped in the dance of floating silks bordered with decorative lace, thus creating a truly, flamboyant and feminine design. Soaked in a romantic palette, but arranged in a diagonal, dynamic manner this pattern is bold yet quintessentially elegant.
This surface pattern design project was a part of my ongoing collaboration with Kidspattern. If you’d like to learn more about them please visit their website HERE. Alternatively, view the archive of our previous projects HERE, in which I discuss in detail the history and nature of our work.
All clothing-mockups presented here are provided courtesy of Kidspattern and are used for visualisation purposes only.
Starting Point
This surface pattern design was commissioned for the client’s Spring-Summer Collection aimed at girls aged 18 to 36 months. Below you can view the elements I have prepared for this series, which focus on the detailed, linear hand drawing of a crown of stripy petalled tulips, matched with animated sheets of soft silks. Additional illustrations include knots, ribbons and repeating tiles used to make a border pattern, which imitates a lace rim.
On the left-hand side please notice the colour palette, which was composed by Kidspattern and is a tasteful selection of blush, warm and nude beiges matched with a brass gold and contrasted with a soft chocolate brown.
Ribbons
Here is a pattern version that comprises of only the strips of silks and lacy ribbons; all tied up in a dynamic arrangement. These examples present two different print sizes and colour schemes (light and dark). In the second of the two, the oversize elements were equipped with a drop shadow effect to add to the design’s dimensionality.
Tulips
Please view the two different colourways of the main version of this pattern; the first delicate, whilst the other striking, yet both inarguably sophisticated and flamboyant. Here, the elements are equipped with a drop shadow effect and are arranged in a diagonal manner, which contributes to this design’s dynamism and dimensionality.
The first surface pattern is visualised in a medium size and blends softly into a delicate blush background. Whilst the second one has all the elements filled in with white and stands in contrast with the background. This colour combination is inspired by an image of a Semper Augustus with its coral stripes flaming against the white. This version was then matched with the silks — recoloured with antique brassy gold — and aspires to draw upon Flemish sentiments.
Print on Clothing
Below, please browse through a slideshow selection of various examples of this surface pattern in print. These are photographs of the client’s first clothing samples produced to display at a trading fair as a launch of their overall Spring-Summer collection. Here you may observe how the pattern was used and printed across multiple items. I have also attached close-ups of the material and a different colour versions.
Please note that these images are provided courtesy of the client and Kidspattern and are used for portfolio purposes only.
“Dutch tulips from their beds
Flaunted their stately heads.”
