When dreaming up our Spring 2020 collection, we traveled the world to explore how a room can be built with different textures and juxtaposed design concepts yet still work in harmony. It was a convergence of New World and Old-World sensibilities that took us to exotic faraway magic of Mongolia and Chile, alongside the Southwestern enchantment of Sedona, Phoenix and Yuma. The color palettes are painted with reds and pinks (think earthy, dusty-rose minerals with vibrant pinks and surprising shots of citrine); a twist on neutrals where champagne lavender bridges warm taupes and rich charcoals that beg to be touched; and a range of blue and green that spans from high octane to subdued, deep to pastoral, graphic to hand drawn.
Though the collection is filled with dreamy abstracts, sumptuous embroidery, subtle geometrics, and hints of metallic threads—including a curated selection of fabrics from the previous Fall 2019 launch—our Bat Ulzii Sum Mongolian Yak textile stands out as the statement fabric of the line. Inspired by centuries of tradition, the visual storytelling of this fabric conveys the gilded history and nomadic lifestyle of the descendants of the Hunni Empire as they made their way through the Mongolian-Manchurian grasslands, or steppe, and were unified by Mongol leader Genghis Khan. Once a year, they would make their pilgrimage to join other clans in the Orkhon Valley in Bat Ulzii Sum to celebrate the revered yak during the famous Yak Festival. Our fabric design depicts this annual ritual, which still remains in practice today—even portraying the Mongolian yak herders dressed in their finest attire (some of their clothes crafted of yak wool) as they traverse the vast open spaces.
