Cecil Beaton Sketches Become Fabrics (& Wallpaper)

Legendary photographer, costume designer and artist, Cecil Beaton has had some of his wonderful drawings immortalized in a new fabric and wallpaper collection from Beaudesert of London.

Launched at this year’s upcoming London Design Festival in September will be a collection of silk, linen and cotton fabrics and wallpapers based on the sketches of Cecil Beaton; one from the Ascher Studio archives and the rest from The National Portrait Gallery printed by Beaudesert of London.


Combining 20 years experience in interiors at the highest level with a Cambridge art historical background, Beaudesert director Andrew Ginger has also acted as editor for the house collection of archive document hand prints for the last 10 years. It is his passion for the work of Sir Cecil Beaton which has driven this first collection from the unique Ascher Studio archive.

cecil beaton book

The ‘Sketchbook’ collection takes Beaton’s fashion drawings largely inspired by his 1954 book ‘The Glass of Fashion’ (shown above) and reinvents them as fabric and wallpaper. This award-winning* collection features his art deco women, sketches of 1929 beauties, fashionable hats, whimsical sailors, his cross check pattern and a surrealist interpretation of Garbo’s Eye, with whom he had an affair. (*’Beaton Beauties’ Winner, Best of the Best Awards, Best New Fabric Print 2008, Living Etc / Focus 2008)

As of right now, the fabric and wallpaper collection consists of the following patterns and colors.

BEATON BEAUTIES (in red, grey or pink silk):

detail:
cecil beaton sketch as fabric

BEATON 1929 (available as graphite, taupe, lavender and soft violet):

textile design

BEATON SAILORS (in blue or pink cotton):

CRISS CROSS CHECK (for which I only have a black linen example):

GARBO’S EYE & HATS FABRIC

GARBO’S EYES:

Beaton's sketch of Greta Garbo's "eyes" 
Beaton’s sketch of Greta Garbo’s “eyes”

HATS:

One of Beaton's hat sketches for Vivien Leigh in Anna Karenina
One of Beaton’s hat sketches for Vivien Leigh in Anna Karenina

These wallpapers and fabrics are available exclusively in Los Angeles at the Suzan Fellman Showroom (yes, the same woman whose crystal animal horns I blogged about the other day).

Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980)

Sir Cecil Beaton
Sir Cecil Beaton with his costume sketch for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady

Beaton launched his career as a ‘society’ photographer in 1926 with an exhibition in London which won him an immediate contract with Vogue, where he worked for the next thirty years. His style was inspired by figures such as E.O. Hoppe, Edward Steichen and Baron de Meyer, the most successful magazine photographers of the 1910’s and 1920’s. Beaton’s fascination with glamour and high society prevailed throughout his life and in 1937 he became court photographer to the British Royal Family. He also became a successful stage and costume designer, most notably for ‘My Fair Lady’ and ‘Gigi’.

Some more examples of his costume designs and drawings:
fashion illustration
above: costume sketch for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady
cecil beaton sketches
above: Another costume sketch for Audrey Hepburn

above: An archival drawing of his

above: his costume sketch and the final result for Leslie Caron in Gigi

Some examples of his photography:

Cecil Beaton, silver gelatin print, Self portrait
Cecil Beaton, silver gelatin print, Self portrait
Vogue, June 1948, Women in Charles James Dresses, Photograph by Cecil Beaton (British, 1904-1980), Courtesy of the Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby’s
cecil beaton photo
Cecil Beaton, portrait of Miss Nancy Beaton as a Shooting Star, 1929
Audrey Hepburn posing for Sir Cecil Beaton in 1943
Audrey Hepburn posing for Sir Cecil Beaton in 1943

cecil beaton beaudesert

Learn more here

or purchase the collection exclusively in Los Angeles at the Suzan Fellman Showroom

Buy Cecil Beaton Books, Photos and Movies From Amazon