Collab Alert: Pierre Frey x India Mahdavi 

India Mahdavi’s luminous velvet designs for Pierre Frey are as sumptuously seductive as they are practical

She’s the design maven behind some of the world’s most drool-worthy of interiors, from chic Parisian boutiques to London’s hottest dining spots. So it should come as little surprise that India Mahdavi’s first fabric collection has sent the industry a little gaga.

Launching with textile scion Pierre Frey — grandson of the founder of the French fabric house — her True Velvet line features 80 solid shades complemented by striking geometric prints across cotton velvets that allow for the richest, most sumptuous display of style.

Recognised as the “Queen of Colour”, India Mahdavi set about creating a polychrome collection that would illuminate interiors. With velvet as the perfect vehicle for carrying luminous deep colour, Mahdavi’s hallmark palette of succulent shades and love of geometric patterns are both evident in the prints and hues in her debut textile collection. The collection boasts nearly 80 shades of velvet, as well as two geometric prints.

Think grayed lavenders, caramel browns, sulfurous yellows, and the same pistachio greens she used for the Ladurée tea house in Geneva, and the dusty pinks used for the ravishingly rosy restaurant design for the Gallery at Sketch in London.

The sumptuous texture of velvet was the main inspiration behind this project as the fabric has a very sensual touch, and also allows for bright and rich colours. Since Mahdavi wanted the fabrics to be useful as well as eye-catching, True Velvet offers two fibers (cotton or mohair), three motifs (plain, as well as printed stripes and diamonds), and three textures: Fine, Medium and Bold.