Oct 18, 2010

Art Deco orange

In the fall of 1905, all Paris was talking about the new style of paintings exhibited at the Salon d'automne. A group of artists led by Henri Matisse, who came to be known as Fauvists, used bright and clear colors in their revolutionary work. Similar movements took hold in the art world in Germany and Austria.
French textile designers from that era included Sonia Delauney and Raul Dufy whose hand-printed fabrics were ordered by couturiers such as the innovative Poiret. A style was born.
Textiles were designed with geomtric and highly stylized motifs and then printed in bold, bright colors. World War I put a hold on the movement, but at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes the streamlined look and the new colors and materials created a worldwide.

One of the favorite colors in the era was orange, which was often paired with blue to create a vibrant look. Below are several examples of the use of orange in Art Deco fabrics from the 1920s-1930s.