Textile, Lilium

Larsen Design Studio rediscovered older technologies that had not been fully utilized previously, with the idea of reintroducing them with a twentieth century design aesthetic. As an example, warp print technology was developed by the French in the first decade of the 19th century, but had only been used on fine, smooth silk to create small floral motifs for fashion fabrics. (1) Larsen experimented with this technology both in the United States and abroad, specifically in Korea, where he encouraged a weaving mill to explore the possibilities of a traditional silk warp. This research and development ended up with a line of fabrics, including Lillium, two decades later. By printing the warp, the flowers--larger and more densely arranged than their 19th century counterpart--have a "fuzzy" outline that re-interprets an ikat dyeing technique.
(1) "Larsen's Use of Technology" by Lotus Stack in Interplay: Perspectives on the Design Legacy of Jack Lenor Larsen (University of Minnesota, 2001)

Textile, Lilium; Designed by Larsen Design Studio (United States); Produced by Jack Lenor Larsen Incorporated (United States); silk; H x W: 645.2 × 128.3 cm (21 ft. 2 in. × 50 1/2 in.); Cowtan and Tout Larsen Archive Collection, Gift of Longhouse Reserve; 2016-32-14