The new... collection
Travels of the imagination inspired the latest fabrics and wallpapers by Black Edition
A summer of frustrated travel plans hasn’t stopped the design team at Black Edition being influenced by far-flung locations. Wallcoverings (below) and fabrics from its newly launched ‘Tabala’ collection carry motifs of rippling waves and towering bamboo. And it’s not just the patterns: some of the materials feel a little tropical too – think wallpapers printed on richly textured woven raffia and grass cloth. Design director Emily Mould (right) tells us this season’s focus was on ‘combining softness and structure’. That is why, as well as the exotic, abstract art was a major inspiration. Bold brushstrokes can be seen in the natural forms of the ‘Jackson’ fabric, while geometric shapes create sumptuous repeats elsewhere.
Black Edition is one of six brands (Romo, Kirkby Design, Mark Alexander, Villa Nova and Zinc Textile are also run in-house) in the Romo Group – a British family business now in its fifth generation. Founder Robert Mould set up a small furniture business in Nottingham in 1902 but changed tack as the region gained a reputation for upholstery. When demand for lace started to fall away in the early 20th century, many East Midlands-based makers refocused their attentions on a growing trade in fitting out luxury ocean liners and railway cars. Supplying fabric became Romo Group’s (then called R Mould Ltd) main business and, since the 1980s, flagship brand Romo has taken charge of its own designs through an in-house studio. Black Edition joined the group in 2013 as a designled offshoot to cater for high-end contemporary interiors.
Changing with the times keeps Black Edition ahead of the design curve. Digital printing and spray dyeing are two notable new techniques in its toolbox – both are used to give fabrics a rich and intense colour. ‘Mysa’, a textured wallcovering from the new collection, is a good example of how the brand puts the latest material innovations to playful and memorable effect. Parts of the paper are painted with a heat-reactive ink that puffs up into ‘cloudlike foam’. These raised details are then printed with a metallic foil to give the whole wall a luxe appearance. Fabric, from £105.50 per metre; wallpaper, from £515 per 10m roll, blackedition.com