Variations

Robert Bonfils (1886-1972) designed this silk furnishing fabric called ‘Variations’ for Bianchini-Férier about 1931. From the late 1920s designs were increasingly abstract and muted in colour. Bonfils was also a graphic artist. Here he draws on a type of imagery that took new technology as a starting point for the depiction of machine parts and accelerated movement. The silk manufacturers Bianchini-Férier were known for their innovative and lively fabrics. The Lyon silk industry, which had flourished since the 1500s, was a major producer of luxury goods for a worldwide market. This was an era when the French government actively promoted this sector, since they sought to establish French desi

Furnishing fabric · Lyon · ca. 1931. Silk. By Bonfils, Robert. Victoria and Albert Museum, London.