Victoria
under
the
shawl
Some 30 years ago I entered the family business, supplier of fine wool cloth, the industry had all but died, but I was determined to keep the name alive.
My father Jacques Wolff, a textile engineer, a court expert, the head of Wolff & Descourtis would shower me with so many recommendations that it created a worthy father-daughter conflict, giving me the keys to understand his world, the world of the textile industry.
I started opening the 18, Galerie Vivienne to the public, selling fabrics by the meter with my father’s rolls of cashmere & wool, rolls of flannel and to complete the offer I went to Como, straight to the top, to choose rolls of prints in wool, silk or coton.
My introduction to Como was Mr Ratti (a visionary silk manufacturer), in earlier time I had worked for Jack Lenor Larsen (the legendary textile designer) with a background of History of Art (Ecole du Louvre) my mother was a very good art drawer and her mother was a fashion illustrator, my mother’s roots were british, russian and french, aunts were in Tunisia, cousins in the States, uncles in England, these ladies had extreme knowledge in arts, a permanent interest in the matters of the world, aesthetism and eccentricity was natural. To top it all, my parents moved to St Germain des Près in 1961, the year I was born. I embraced it all, I was right in the middle of a never ending theater of culture, memorising bits and pieces of May 68, sharpenning my observation skills and natural imagination.
I started manufacturing shawls in Como and Lyon, the two cities of Europe historically known for their silk industry. The range of the worker’s skills using hand and machine screen printing in Como or using ancient jacquard mechanical looms in Lyon is simply unique in the world. We still work together.
I comb through old documents to find my patterns, moving from one reference to the other, indian scenes with elephants, floral, persan miniature, enluminure,exotism, art nouveau, paisley, ottoman, second empire, in order to create a constant visual stimulation.
As the shawl will be wrapped close to one’s face I use a galaxy of colors like an eye-shadow palette to create an emotion, a nostalgic feel, daring, quiet, rafined, understated, overstated, in order to match each person’s complexity.
The fabric, as a family tradition is wool, mixed with silk or pure silk. 2 noble materials that enhance the depth of the colors.
As my definition of luxury is “the one of a kind find”, the printed shawls are produced in small quantities, 24 of each, the hand-painted jacquard velvets, in very small quantities, 8 of each.
Some 30 years ago I entered the family business, supplier of fine wool cloth, the industry had all but died, but I was determined to keep the name alive.
My father Jacques Wolff, a textile engineer, a court expert, the head of Wolff & Descourtis would shower me with so many recommendations that it created a worthy father-daughter conflict, giving me the keys to understand his world, the world of the textile industry.
I started opening the 18, Galerie Vivienne to the public, selling fabrics by the meter with my father’s rolls of cashmere & wool, rolls of flannel and to complete the offer I went to Como, straight to the top, to choose rolls of prints in wool, silk or coton.
My introduction to Como was Mr Ratti (a visionary silk manufacturer), in earlier time I had worked for Jack Lenor Larsen (the legendary textile designer) with a background of History of Art (Ecole du Louvre) my mother was a very good art drawer and her mother was a fashion illustrator, my mother’s roots were british, russian and french, aunts were in Tunisia, cousins in the States, uncles in England, these ladies had extreme knowledge in arts, a permanent interest in the matters of the world, aesthetism and eccentricity was natural. To top it all, my parents moved to St Germain des Près in 1961, the year I was born. I embraced it all, I was right in the middle of a never ending theater of culture, memorising bits and pieces of May 68, sharpenning my observation skills and natural imagination.
I started manufacturing shawls in Como and Lyon, the two cities of Europe historically known for their silk industry. The range of the worker’s skills using hand and machine screen printing in Como or using ancient jacquard mechanical looms in Lyon is simply unique in the world. We still work together.
I comb through old documents to find my patterns, moving from one reference to the other, indian scenes with elephants, floral, persan miniature, enluminure,exotism, art nouveau, paisley, ottoman, second empire, in order to create a constant visual stimulation.
As the shawl will be wrapped close to one’s face I use a galaxy of colors like an eye-shadow palette to create an emotion, a nostalgic feel, daring, quiet, rafined, understated, overstated, in order to match each person’s complexity.
The fabric, as a family tradition is wool, mixed with silk or pure silk. 2 noble materials that enhance the depth of the colors.
As my definition of luxury is “the one of a kind find”, the printed shawls are produced in small quantities, 24 of each, the hand-painted jacquard velvets, in very small quantities, 8 of each.
Next, I am here, in the shop, people come to visit me, oftenly wearing a W&D shawl. It is always great to be able to talk about what I am doing. People frequently ask about my daughter, my family, then it is my turn to ask. We know each other very well, like a big family. For me, that side is very important,
this is the ultimate stimulation I need to re-create what will become W&D’s next best shawl.
Victoria Wolff