Zina de Plagny – Dahlias and Leaves & Ribbon

Zina de Plagny – Circles & Flowers and Lilac Paisley Murals by Surface View

With pieces of mid-century design cropping up all over the place, it’s getting harder to find genuine relics of progressive prints. But what could be more original than patterns revived after 60 years in exile?

This season offers a reclaiming of bygone designs from two of the print world’s most talented female designers. Zina de Plagny, the lesser known of the two was a Russian born Parisian who was introduced to textile design by her husband. Her colourfully abstract, almost psychedelic prints have recently been unearthed and turned into wallpaper murals by fantastic British bespoke creators Surface View. Although her fluid flora designs were influenced by nature, the same as Lucienne Day, their prints are delightfully dissimilar. The much celebrated British designer Day was very much ahead of the curve, using abstract flowers to create atomic shapes and futuristic geometrics, bringing art to the masses. Her death earlier this year has prompted the reprinting of her most famous Festival of Britain design, the award winning Calyx pattern by Heals who bought the design from her back in 1951 for the grand sum of £20.

Their creations stimulated a forceful change in art and design, inspiring Europe to rediscover it’s penchant for creativity after WW2. So instead of buying the latest mid-century reproductions, find your very own piece of history in one of these amazing vintage designs.

Lucienne Day – Dandelion Clocks & Larch

Lucienne Day – Calyx Chairs by Heals

– Siobhán McGurrin