Fauve Garden, history of a motif

What's more remarkable than a print?

I don't know about you, but when I wander through stores, this is often what catches my eye: before the cut, the line, the garment itself, it's a fabric that will interrupt my window-shopping. A color that will catch my eye out of the corner of my eye, a pattern that I'll want to examine more closely.

Furthermore, an exclusive print is also a way to identify a brand. And in the world of couture, fabric designers who develop their own patterns are immediately recognizable. When we look at a hand-sewn garment, we will first notice the fabric pattern, before identifying the chosen sewing pattern. And I love this idea of ​​a pattern that people will love to wear, and that will "sign" a look, an outfit. Choosing a fabric for its pattern is a way to say what we like, to assert our style.

Since I created my brand, I have always wanted to achieve a global creative proposition. This begins with working on the sewing pattern, seeking to infuse each model with a creative touch specific to Maison Fauve. Then on the design of the envelopes of our patterns, so that the pocket patterns are an extension of the universe of the collections. There is also all the research around our photoshoots: the locations, the accessories, the styling of the outfits, the way in which our photographer will work on her photos in order to recreate the atmosphere with which I want to imbue the collection. The work on the fabrics is therefore a fair continuation of this creative approach.

For Fauvae Botanica , the Jardin Fauve motif was the culmination of several months of work to create a print that would be emblematic of the collection.

How to create a textile pattern?

The first step is the search for the design . The Fauvae Botanica universe is imbued with the atmosphere of curiosity cabinets, the slightly gothic Victorian aesthetic and the wild and dreamlike garden. I wanted to develop a floral motif with a "mysterious", even poisonous note. I was inspired by botanical engraving books, old plates that botanists drew, to work on my design. The line had to highlight the contours, the volumes, the reliefs because I did not want to "fill" my flowers with color. The background would be the only color and the lines of the flowers would be highlighted by contrast.

The other constraints I imposed on myself were:

• That the fabric does not have a "top" and "bottom" in order to be able to place its pieces while optimizing the consumption of the fabric

• That the pattern does not connect to avoid seamstresses having to deal with this problem when cutting and assembling the pieces

For the flowers, I carefully chose which species would be represented. My preference was the Japanese camellia, the peony, the anemone, and the immortelle.

The camellia is a winter flower whose petals describe very tight curves and very soft roundness (and I'm not going to hide my passion for Chanel, the wink is far too obvious ;)).

The anemone is a very interesting flower because of the contrast between its visually strong center, laden with stamens, and its soft, light petals.

The peony is a spectacular flower due to its volume and the cutouts of its petals, and it is as beautiful in bloom as it is in bud. It is also the flower I chose to adorn my forearm with a large, life-size tattoo of peonies in black and gray.

The immortelle brings a more vegetal note, and for me it has a particular emotional charge because my mother is Corsican and immortelles have the scent of holidays, of the sun, of the wild beauty of the Corsican landscapes.

Then comes the element that creates the surprise in this bucolic composition: the viper , which undulates and winds to bring dynamism to the whole. This viper is also drawn according to the codes of naturalist drawing.

I created each flower in several copies, and in different configurations. Then I came to mix them, entangle them, and integrate the snake in order to create harmony, and establish two "basic" patterns.

After hand sketching on paper , to practice and refine my drawing, I worked on Procreate to put the drawings into digital format and on Illustrator to format the overall pattern. Then came the most technical part, which is essential in the creation of a textile design and which was the most difficult for me: creating a pattern with a rapport/match . The pattern must have consistency in the repetition and the pattern jump is repeated without creating a break between the different work planes, in the direction of height and width. What is complicated is to manage the repetition without obtaining a bizarre and too obvious effect of very ordered multiplication, especially on a figurative and non-geometric pattern like Jardin Fauve. I carried out multiple tests and paper prints to validate the placements, the scale, the repetition. The patterns had to be easily found from one pattern piece to another, while remaining airy to facilitate reading.

Choosing the right fabric

I wanted the Jardin Fauve print to embellish light pieces like dresses , blouses, shirts . I chose a viscose poplin : it is a supple, soft fabric, easy to sew, and whose opacity allows you to make all kinds of pieces. It drapes more beautifully, accentuating the "lively" side of the design. The quality of poplin had already been validated during our previous collections, so I knew that there would be no problem with washing, ironing, and that the fabric was suitable for many sewing projects.

Do... And redo!

I sent all the elements to our textile printer , and we did some initial tests to envision the pattern with color on the viscose poplin. Upon receipt, I was very disappointed: the design didn't come out well, the lines were too thin. The scale wasn't great either, the patterns were too small, too compact, and not legible enough. But it still allowed me to validate my color choices, and above all, to highlight the flaws in my first drawings. So I completely redrew each element, reworked the placements, made new test prints on paper... And sent it back to the textile printer, crossing my fingers that the pattern would be as beautiful as I imagined it. And this second attempt was the right one; I had my signature pattern!

The new print is ready, we will have to choose the color range . For this, I established a range of colors for Fauvae Botanica. I settled on Cherry Red , Iced Brown , and Mahogany as new colors to add to our range. They are a perfect complement to Sand , Khaki , Ink Blue and Beetle Green already present in our fabric range. And above all, they combine with each other and with the fabrics that we had sourced in deadstock and the jacquards that we had woven: the Storm Grey and Deep Black wools, the Botanica Ecru and Ink Blue jacquards.

Once the colors were decided, I made a selection of colors for each material: the Fauve Garden pattern is available in Cherry Red , Scarab Green , Ink Blue and Sand .

How is a collection created?

The work on the collection is built around a primary inspiration (here the secret garden ). I imagine a wardrobe that will fit into this universe. I design models, combine the clothes together until I finalize the patterns that will build the season's wardrobe.

At the same time, I work on the choice of materials, the range of colors, the patterns and I carry out initial fabric tests to decide which ones will be most suitable for the patterns. When the colors are decided, we have the range of matching buttons produced, we order the sewing threads , and we then sew the visuals which will be presented during the shooting.

The goal of our fabric collections is to allow you to sew Maison Fauve sewing patterns without worrying about making a mistake. And each season, the fabrics are combined with our models: the Soliflore blouse/dress, the dress version of the Vipère pattern and the Cicadella blouse are all beautifully sewn in Jardin Fauve viscose poplin.

The Viper dress in Scarab Green Fawn Garden - The Soliflore dress in Ink Blue Fawn Garden - The Cicadella blouse in Cherry Red Fawn Garden

A story of meeting

The rest of this story is up to you. When we launch our collections, we're never sure: will you like the patterns, which color will appeal to you the most, what projects will you imagine using the new fabrics?

Discovering you in Maison Fauve fabric, seeing how you build your wardrobe with pieces hand-sewn in our fabrics, this is the most beautiful conclusion to give to this creative journey: from the drawings that I sketch to your most beautiful works, the circle is complete!

Discover Jardin Fauve fabrics