KnollTextiles Legacy Collection Celebrates 70 Years of Design
The proverb ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ was never truer than for Florence Knoll in the early 1940’s. She was determined to find suitable modern upholstery, for Hans Knoll’s modern furniture, in a market dominated by traditional decorator wares such as chintz, brocade and cabbage roses. She turned to grey and beige tweeds and flannels from Scotland for use in commercial interiors. This unexpected adaptation of simple menswear fabric for furniture application signified the beginning of Florence Knoll’s enduring legacy of innovation and the founding of the KnollTextiles business in 1947.
“Very few textile companies can say they offer a breadth of products that have had a consistent point of view for 70 years. More importantly, no one in the market is connected to a legendary design visionary like Florence Knoll, the founder of our company who celebrates her 100th birthday in 2017,” Dorothy Cosonas, Creative Director KnollTextiles.
To honor the 70th anniversary and Florence Knoll’s founding vision of modern design, Dorothy and her team delved into the archives, searching for classic textiles that could be adapted for today’s market. Dorothy spoke to the design process saying, “We studied multiple archives and worked with various mills to reinterpret the colors, structure and materials of these textiles. Our 70th anniversary was a great opportunity to revisit and reinvigorate product from past decades adding even more choice of KnollTextiles for today’s specifier.”
The Legacy Collection has 6 archive inspired upholstery patterns and 2 drapery fabrics. The collection also has 3 high performance Vinyl wallcovering offerings. KnollTextiles will continue adding archive inspired product throughout 2017.
Upholstery
Catwalk is a fashion driven window pane pattern with its multi-colored textural line work created on a custom loom set up with space dyed novelty yarn. Catwalk was inspired by Knoll Irish Tweed Grid (window pane) and Kincaid (ground), both launched in 1978.
Content: 81% Wool,14% Nylon, 2% Cotton, 2% Acrylic, 1% polyester
Width: 54”
Abrasion: 40,000 Cycles Martindale
Colors: 9
Modern Tweed is the compliment to pattern Catwalk utilizing the same spaced dyed novelty yarn to create an allover multi-colored highly textural upholstery. Modern Tweed is based on archival pattern Protea (1973) and an unnamed handwoven upholstery from the 1960s.
Content: 47% Cotton, 23% Rayon,14% Polyester, 8% Acrylic, 8% Wool
Width: 54”
Abrasion: 40,000 Double Rubs Wyzenbeek
Colors: 6
Pullman is woven with chenille novelty yarn to create super soft allover texture with visible dimension. Pullman is inspired by Kerry Linen (1953).
Content: 53% Acrylic, 29% Polyester, 18% Cotton
Width: 54”
Abrasion: 35,000 Double Rubs Wyzenbeek
Colors: 8
In Stitches is inspired by Knoll Nylon Homespun Pinstripe (1953). It features thin vertical ticking stripes available in either on-trend neon or classic hues on a heathered ground cloth.
Contents: 80% Wool, 12% Polyester, 8% Silk
Width: 54”
Abrasion: 95,0000 Double Rubs Wyzenbeek
Colors: 6
Uni-form is a beautifully colored basket weave inspired by archive Toulouse (1979). The well priced Uni-form is made from 80% recycled polyester and exceeds 100,000 double rubs Wyzenbeek.
Contents: 80% Recycled Polyester, 20% Polyester
Width: 55”
Abrasion: 100,000+ Double Rubs Wyzenbeek
Colors: 14
Stretch Appeal is a 4 way stretch upholstery. The unique weave construction combined with elastin content allows the width to expand from 49” relaxed to 54” (stretched). Stretch Appeal is the perfect solution for curvy and organic shaped furniture pieces. It has an appealing hand plus performance, 100,000+ double rubs, thanks to the combination of natural materials plus elastin. The 10 colors of Stretch Appeal are inspired by various hues found in our archives.
Contents: 78% Wool, 20% Mohair, 2% PU (elastin)
Width: 49” – 54”
Abrasion: 100,000+ Double Rubs Wyzenbeek
Colors: 10
Drapery
The iconic Cyclone, a winning design from a 1972 international student exhibition, is now available in 4 new color choices including a bold red. Cyclone is an open knit drapery that is light, refined and elegant.
Contents: 100% Trevira® CS Polyester
Width: 57”
Colors: 4 New – 6 Total
Looking Glass is a light and airy 118” wide knit drapery available in 6 colors including a dramatic black option. Looking Glass is inspired by the archives Fiberglass Casement (1957) and Wool Casement (1957).
Contents: 100% Trevira® CS Polyester
Width: 118”
Colors: 6
Wallcovering
Hemisphere, Lanyard and Rope are high performance non-Phthalate Vinyl wallcoverings that bring design and performance in both neutral and on-trend colors options. Hemisphere is a deep emboss for maximum dimension at the wall.
Hemisphere Contents: 85% Non-Phthalate Vinyl (face), 15% Cotton backing
Width: 54”
Colors: 8
Lanyard Contents: 75% Non-Phthalate Vinyl (face), 25% Cotton backing
Width: 54”
Colors: 6
Rope Contents: 75% Non-Phthalate Vinyl (face), 25% Cotton backing
Width: 54”
Colors: 6
About KnollTextiles
KnollTextiles is currently under the creative direction of Dorothy Cosonas, who combines clean, clear color with modern, elegant patterns and textures. In 2005 Cosonas was named the 11th Creative Director of KnollTextiles. Her inaugural collection won a Best of NeoCon Gold award – her first of 7 along with 6 Silver awards for Knoll. In 2008 she founded Knoll Luxe as the fashion forward luxury component of KnollTextiles where she has contributed her own work along with collaborating fashion designers such as Proenza Schouler, Rodarte and Maria Cornejo. Her work was a major part of KnollTextiles 2011 retrospective exhibition at the Bard Graduate Center and has been accepted into the permanentcollection of Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian National Design Museum. In 2016 Cosonas received the IIDA Titan Award and most recently was named the 2017 Interior Design Magazine HiP Creative Director. Founded by Florence Knoll in 1947, KnollTextiles is a division of Knoll, Inc., and maintains a marketing and design studio at 1330 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.
