Luxurious curiosity | The Royal Menagerie

The Royal Menagerie is a play on the idea of decadence, luxury, and maximalism. We’re presenting a sophisticated, contemporary interpretation of the quintessential 1970s Las Vegas glitz and glamour and a reimagining of Elvis’s Graceland home.

I was lucky enough to visit the Elvis set during filming. It was such a privilege to see Catherine and Baz’s work in person. You walk onto huge sound stages and inside are these beautiful, complete boxes, built within the centimetre of the room sizes at Graceland and nothing is CGI except the windows. The production was fastidiously researched by Catherine and her team; viewed through a modern lens but incredibly accurate, right down to the custom-moulded light switches from each period.

The thread running through The Royal Menagerie collection is the animal motifs and statues found throughout Graceland. Catherine and I are also both huge fans of classic editor brands like Clarence House and de Gournay, so there is of course reference to Elvis and his home, but a play on these iconic fabric and wallpaper designs is infused into the collection. We wanted to create not only beautiful designs, but accessible textiles and wallpapers with longevity in both their design and their quality.

The jungle room was Elvis’s personal escape, full of decadent resort-inspired decor and furniture from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. Complete with animal statues, a water feature, and green shag pile carpet it also doubled as a music studio. The room was a huge influence within The Royal Menagerie because it allowed us to explore the botanic motifs and animal skin references which inspired our sophisticated tropical design, the intricate Jungle Room embroidery.

The designs are a continuation of our Majorelle collection. Monkey Business plays into the concept of a menagerie, incorporating the monkey statues in Elvis’s maximalist jungle room but also speaking to the colours of our tropical La Palma wallpaper.

Illustrating the glamour of Elvis’s rock and roll lifestyle are plush, richly coloured patterned velvets, animal prints, an exquisite embroidery, and densely pattern wallpapers. The maximalist patterns of the collection are underpinned by a divine silk-look velvet plain and an artisanal handloomed drapery.

The colour palette for this collection is nostalgic for 70s glamour! Tropically scented palm greens, deep teals, whisky tinged blush pinks and burnished gold are set into a base of refined neutrals, constructing a rich, heady colour palette.

As a child of the 70s I have an affinity for patterns. I grew up surrounded by patterned jacquard sofas and chairs and embossed wallpapers, as did Catherine who has embraced a maximalist aesthetic throughout her interior design style and approach to film projects.

My approach when working with Catherine is to treat her as our director, honouring her working relationship with Baz in her role as a producer, costume and set designer. We seek to create textiles and wallpapers which express and enhance her creative vision for each collection. Hopefully we have achieved this for her in The Royal Menagerie!

I’m thrilled to once again be collaborating with the genius that is Catherine Martin. She is both a hero and a friend, and it is always such an incredible experience to have an insight into her world and the rich quality of her work.