This week we had the pleasure of meeting Sophie Roet who introduced us to her wonderful world of vintage and antique textile designs. Sophie began working as a woven textile designer after graduating from the Royal College of Art in 1995. She has also spent time working as a stylist and a colourist. Sophie has worked with some of the top interior and fashion designers including Burberry, Celine, Cartier, Chelsea Textiles, Tom Ford, The Row and Victoria Beckham to name just a few.
Sophie has an archive of exquisite vintage and antique textile designs for sale for both menswear and womenswear. We had such fun diving into the archive and seeing some exquisite pieces that she’s been collecting over 20 years. The collection includes rare and unusual woven, printed and embellished textile designs as well as original artworks for textiles, wallpaper and lace.
Sophie began collecting when she was living in Paris following her BA degree. She was working for a Dutch trend forecaster and would spend her weekends visiting the flea markets on the outskirts of Paris such as Vanves and Clignancourt. If you haven’t been, these flea markets are a real treasure trove and definitely worth exploring. Sophie’s eye for collecting all began at these markets and her first purchase were some antique ribbons which came in a range of sumptuous colour combinations.
Like us, Sophie has a love for natural fibres and traditional techniques and also believes in the importance of supporting and protecting precious crafting skills. At our Design Studio, textile archives provide a constant source of inspiration to us. Sophie explained that one of her favourite finds is an antique Chinese fisherman’s undershirt. Made from tiny pieces of bamboo, it hangs above her bed. She also loves her collection of 1920’s Egyptian Assuit shawls which drape over doors around her home.
This made us think of some of our favourite antique textile pieces that we have framed around our hotels. We continue to be inspired by archival pieces and do our best to celebrate them. Explore our blog post ‘How to Hang Art to Tell a Story’ here.
If you are looking for some inspiration or wish to travel through the history of textiles check out Sophie Roet’s collections. These archives have got us fired up for our next project! sophieroet.com