Designing Mokum's Grande Terre

As designers, we are forever inspired by travel and the shifts in perspective it ignites. We wanted to capture the feeling of escapism and the idea of bringing a memento or a feeling home with you to live with.

Grande Terre feels like looking through a kaleidoscopic lens. Interpreting the feeling of walking beneath a tropical canopy and looking up through the mass of botanical forms and pockets of light through a mesmerizing tangle of botanical motifs.

A classic rather than a trend, botanical designs are deeply rooted in textile history. I think it’s all in how designers interpret and reimagine botanical resources to bring something new and interesting to the table.

In Australasia we have an affinity with nature and want to bring the outside in. The way we’ve achieved this in the collection’s botanical patterns is through an abstract lens, allowing botanical motifs to simply become shapes which can be perceived as botanical but aren’t literal leaves, making them much more usable.

Anchored by our thematic idea, we begin by researching motifs and drawing them as a repeat unit before hand-rendering the artwork in gouache. Gouache was the perfect medium to create the design in – I love how it flows and melts into the next colour, leaving a chalky opaque finish behind.

Gouache brought the island daydream to life in a natural, fluid way and the loose brush did the talking in a ‘stream of consciousness’ style of painting where nothing was carefully controlled and the abstract shapes morph into one another. The design was painted on a sunny day on my deck overlooking the bush which definitely helped to transport me to an island!

Whilst Mokum typically favour over-scaled drapery repeats which open up at the window and are generous with negative space, Grande Terre is a much smaller repeat of 70 x 66cm. Therefore, it is a more versatile size – ideal for multipurpose application.

Once painted the artwork is scanned and we digitally manipulate the composition, creating a multilayered file to colour the design. Digital print has the unique capability of capturing the fine details and tonal variance in the original painting, maintaining the human hand in the final product.

The palette was derived from a combination of photographs of the landscape and flora of the South Pacific Islands, as well as the works of post-impressionists who spent time there. We also looked to contemporary artists, such as Ray Crooke, for how they capture the characteristic colour and light of the tropics.

Three distinct palettes colour Grande Terre; Jungle layers verdant greens and oxide accents with deep martini and bark, Tamarind draws inspiration from volcanic terrain with molten rusts, burgundy, and bronze on a peachy sun kissed ground, and Lagoon fuses deep pacific, powder, and sky blues with juicy guava accents on a seagrass ground.

To achieve the best possible translation onto fabric, we go through the process of ‘striking off’ with the printing mill. During this process we colour match the design to other patterns and plains within the collection and the wider Mokum range.

We selected a blended cotton-linen with a natural scoured ground colour – as opposed to an ivory. This allows the colours to subdue and settle into the cloth, evoking a nostalgic lived-in appearance. We also used this printing technique for our Colour Field design.

The fabric’s natural slub adds texture to the design and its soft, tumbled handle makes it ideal for both drapery and light duty upholstery.

Grande Terre and Papeete see Mokum forgo our detailed illustrative hand and instead present abstract and expressive interpretations of motifs. In the past our drapery prints have been over scaled for suitability at the window, but as pattern usage matures and designers become more adventurous with pattern and colour, we have also become more experimental with multipurpose designs.

Digital printing technology has been the catalyst for this and is now the preferred method across our European supply chain as there are fewer limitations than with traditional printing, which is really exciting as a designer.

It all comes together during our collection photoshoot, as we move beyond the screen to see the drapery and upholstered pieces in the context of a home.

I find this to be the most fulfilling part of the design process as I also have a hand in the botanical styling of our shoots. Viewing the collection and individual products through a new lens to extract colours, textures, and forms from the textiles and source produce that complements or contrasts – it’s these styling details that help to tell the collection’s story and bring an idea to life. And as a floral and textile designer, I think this truly elevates the brand experience.