Collections

Presenting the ‘best of’ Gainsborough’s previous stock collections, Grand Masters grants access to a plethora of fabrics covering a host of historical styles and periods.

Impervious to the passing of time, this collection allows our clients to purchase fabrics they know and love by the metre.

Expertly crafted in our Dyehouse and Weaving Shed in Sudbury, Suffolk, Grand Masters is Gainsborough’s tribute to the designers from generations past and the master weavers of old.

A collection of seven archival designs in 25 contemporary, usable colourways, Saluté reveals Gainsborough at its most sumptuous and beautiful.

Built around the eponymous Saluté design, which graced the walls of the First Class Dining Saloon on RMS Titanic, the collection takes its lead from an era when beauty and design were pursued for their own sakes.

Gainsborough has championed fine design and the highest quality manufacturing for over 115 years; Saluté is our homage to timeless craftsmanship.

Developed in collaboration with artist and designer Karen Beauchamp, and subtitled The Grand Tour, Renaissance pays homage to Warner’s European travels and the eclectic riches found in the archive he started, which Karen excavated to showcase the best of Gainsborough, the artisanal skills of its craftspeople and the unique finishes possible on our older shuttle looms.

The collection nods to Gainsborough’s past but with a clear eye on the future, infusing signature patterns with a dramatic sense of scale and a compelling contemporary colour palette to create pieces that are completely right for now.

The development of contemporary designs has always been as much a part of Gainsborough as the weaving of historic motifs, and the company’s story is largely one of 20th, and now 21st, Century design.

This crossover collection highlights some of the designs that speak to the era in which they were born, from the turn-of-the-century calendered Moiré to the Art Deco style of the geometric Key, but now presented in an on-trend colour palette.

The Medici design has been a Gainsborough mainstay for almost a century, with each generation discovering anew its rich colouring and depth of weave structure. The original colourways continue to delight customers in search of a traditional Damask that works flexibly in interior schemes; no wonder it was used on the set of Downton Abbey!

The Renaissance Collection features the Medici in four new colourways but we felt that this stalwart of the Mill warranted a reinvention in its own right. The House Medici collection brings together 10 all-new colourways that straddle the traditional and contemporary. The weft yarns – dominated by golden hues in past Medici designs – are now neutral or silver in tone, and linen has been employed to lift these quintessential Gainsborough designs yet further out of the ordinary.

The Criterion collections mark a significant departure for Gainsborough, offering the best of all worlds: the beauty and integrity of Gainsborough designs in a versatile range of fabrics, at price points that allow designers and specifiers to bring our stunning designs for drapery and upholstery to their entire schemes.

Criterion I is a collection of six much-loved archive designs, all 100% inherently flame-retardant (IFR), in 9 colourways apiece.

The Criterion collections are distinct from anything else on the market and reflect Gainsborough’s heritage as a designer-maker. Bespoke IFR fabrics are also available in runs as short as 120m.

The Criterion collections mark a significant departure for Gainsborough, offering the best of all worlds: the beauty and integrity of Gainsborough designs in a versatile range of fabrics, at price points that allow designers and specifiers to bring our stunning designs for drapery and upholstery to their entire schemes.

Criterion II is an upholstery-grade collection (predominantly 40,000+ rubs) also IFR, bringing together three 1950s-inspired designs, each presented in 9 colourways, alongside the three designs (in 3 colourways each) developed initially for the Sir John Soane’s Collection in 2017.

The Criterion collections are distinct from anything else on the market and reflect Gainsborough’s heritage as a designer-maker. Bespoke IFR fabrics are also available in runs as short as 120m.

The Criterion collections mark a significant departure for Gainsborough, offering the best of all worlds: the beauty and integrity of Gainsborough designs in a versatile range of fabrics, at price points that allow designers and specifiers to bring our stunning designs for drapery and upholstery to their entire schemes.

Criterion III is a further upholstery collection (40,000+ rubs) of 20 stunning stripes, incorporating noble yarns for a more luxurious feel with an optional FR coating.

The Criterion collections are distinct from anything else on the market and reflect Gainsborough’s heritage as a designer-maker. Bespoke IFR fabrics are also available in runs as short as 120m.

Developed under licence from Sir John Soane’s Museum, this collection is inspired
 by the individual style of Sir John Soane, one of the most influential and original of all English architects.

Soane was an avid collector of artefacts and works of art, many of which were obtained on his Grand Tour and displayed in his home, which he left to the country on his death in 1837. The house at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in London, together with buildings like the Bank of England and Dulwich Picture Gallery, is Soane’s legacy; it is one of London’s most popular museums and continues to inspire new generations of designers and architects.

Gainsborough’s craftsmanship and technical weaving expertise allow Soane’s style to reach beyond the unique museum that bears his name. Colour was an extremely important element in the creation of interiors for Soane and was central to the development of this collection, with shades carefully colour-matched to those in the museum. Key colours include Pompeian Red, derived from wall plaster Soane found at Pompeii, Turner Yellow, and Porphyry Brown, coloured to imitate porphyry, a material only rediscovered in Egypt during Soane’s lifetime.

‘Sir John Soane’s Museum’ is the registered trade mark of the Sir John Soane’s Museum.

With Abby expecting her third baby and Carolyn expecting her ninth Grandchild, the duo was spurred into action by the lack of beautiful nursery fabrics available to Carolyn Parker clients and to all mothers and grandparents searching for something extra special. After many enjoyable meetings with the Gainsborough team, and countless hours in the Gainsborough archive, The Bunny Gets It was born.

We hope you enjoy this collection as much as we enjoyed creating it!