Textiles in Bloom

The harmonious and symmetrical  structure of flowers, their varied shapes and colours have always inspired artists, craftsmen and designers. No wonder that images of flowers had been present in fashion since ancient times. Although there have been periods in the past when flower patterns decorated men’s and women’s clothes, in the fashion of 20th century floral motifs were assigned mostly to feminine garments.

Flowers have always been associated with femininity. Blooming plants with all their subtleness, delicacy and ephemeral beauty symbolize womanhood. The liaisons between flowers and femininity are visible in fashion designing. This exhibition shows a small part of collection gathered by Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz. The printed clothing fabrics and women’s apparel from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s shown the evidence of wide variety of flower patterns and their permanent presence in women’s fashion.

Designing floral prints does not merely imitate nature. Creative visions of textile designers go far beyond existing botanical models. Some fabrics from 1960s, 1970s and 1980s are decorated with vivid images of unreal flowers. The shapes of motifs are inspired by natural forms of flowers and leaves, but their colours are abnormal. Printed plants may have green petals, pink leaves and black stems – such use of colour has nothing in common with reality. Sometimes one pattern had been designed and produced in a wide range of different coloristic versions.

Shapes of flowers may be modified while designing fabric prints as well. In 1960s simplified, geometrical images of flowers had become popular. Floral motifs in that period were sometimes reduced to few lines or just several stains of colour. Some of them resembled Art Deco style. Flowers printed on fabrics in 1960s and 1970s were often big and had bright, vibrant colours. Plain flowers, with rough outlines, sometimes looked similar to children’s drawings; occasionally they tended toward abstract art. These patterns harmonized well with simple, geometric forms of clothes.

Some specific flower designs, which were popular in 1970s, derived from Polish regional folk costume. A part of traditional female costume of Krakowiak Folk and Highlanders from Podhale region and Tatra Mountains was a skirt made of soft woolen fabric called tybet. The fabric was printed with pattern of flowers, especially roses. Women also wore shoulder and head scarves made of tybet printed with wide flower border and small flowers in the middle.

Fashion in 1970s drew inspiration from variety of cultures – exotic ones as well as indigenous. Ethnic and folk motifs became popular then. In Polish People’s Republic deriving from rural traditions was welcomed by authorities and professional designers eagerly adopted folk patterns. Floral skirts, shawls and scarves became fashionable among Polish women. Even famous Polish fashion house “Telimena” in 1974 used tybet fabric with flower print and created the so called “folkloristic collection”.

Floral patterns appear to be essential for feminine style. Printed fabrics with flower designs have been used in many kinds of women's garments: daywear and nightwear; casual clothes as well as formal ones. The rich collection of the Central Museum of Textiles in Lodz illustrates the variety of clothes and accessories with flower prints which have been present in Polish fashion.