Revival by S. Harris

This is Revival.

Inspired by Art Nouveau’s most iconic pieces and influential artists, the Revival collection highlights a modern restoration of what’s been made new so many times before. Like Art Nouveau, this collection nods to an era of technology, folklore, architecture, flora, fauna and fairy tale.

Yielding to both science and mysticism, the use of lines became a basis for decorative schemes. Inspired by a similar, hair-like, sinuous line, Revival contains jacquard patterns whose intricate looms and linear motions curve back on themselves, creating a tense whiplash of energy. To settle this fury, the distressed cut velvets feel the way a Claude Debussy song sounds, luscious and inviting. A hint of shell; a cluster of root — nature runs through the vein of this collection. It could stand for innocence, luxury, or even the collective thinking of the era.

ATHENA SCALLOP

Coming in at the tail end of Art Nouveau, artist Erté became most famous for his elegant fashion designs which would later encapsulate the era in which he worked.  

The linework of Erté’s illustration Athena is at once delicate and structured. Athena stands proudly, holding her fan like a staff; her headdress beams from the crown of her head like rays of light. Inspired by the sinuous lines and broad loops of Athena, Athena Scallop’s arced design expands across a clean cotton linen jacquard.

VINTAGE PEACOCK

Beauty in the animal kingdom is not mere decoration — it’s a code. Ornamentation on animals evolved to illustrate their health and vitality. Watching a peacock expand is a force of nature, and the artists of Art Nouveau sought to bring this organic power back into public spaces.

The undeniable impact of Vintage Peacock, a multi-colored embroidery on cotton linen blend, resounds. Giving a nod to Art Nouveau’s mission, to praise nature not with logic but with “bio-logic.” The embroidered feather design of Vintage Peacock uses exaggerated shapes and sizes to show the balance between beauty and power.

SCHIELE SILK

Prodigy of Gustav Klimt, the Austrian painter Egon Schiele also spent his career focusing on the female figure. Schiele put his mark on the art world using his pen and paintbrush to express themes of discovery, sex, and death with a frenetic line. In 1912, Schiele was even imprisoned for his unconventional portrayals of young women.  

Schiele Silk, our dramatic embroidered floral, on a spray-dyed silk ground, has the energy of Schiele’s lines, and the sensual curves of the female forms he was drawn to. We imagine one of Schiele’s models draping herself in this rich print and sitting down in front of the artist as he sketches her.

The embroidered flower, leaning against a striking set of vertical lines, makes a gesture to Art Nouveau and adds sophistication to any affair.

FOR ARTS SAKE

Emphasizing the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic, the famed English illustrator Aubrey Beardsley was heavily influenced by Japanese woodcuttings. Using ink as his medium, Beardsley created highly ornate illustrations focused primarily on the female form and historical narratives. Of his most famous illustrations, Salomé depicts a bubbling skyline and a decadent embrace.  

One of our favorite pieces of the Revival collection, For Arts Sake demands attention. Resembling Beardsley’s iconic skyline, this spray dyed velvet print’s scalloped design fits in perfectly with the Decadent Movement – an era defined by “art for art’s sake.”

HEYGATE

Wanting to break from his Renaissance influence, Arts and Crafts designer Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo looked past the shores of Italy and focused his attention to a breaking wave. The rhythm and movement of plant tendrils created what would become an essential concept of Art Nouveau design.  

Heygate’s foil printed velvet pattern mimics the movement pulsing through Art Nouveau. Metallic and moody, the decorative flourishes are indeed akin to the angle of which plants weave through water at dusk.