Victor Glemaud for Schumacher

The renowned fabric company Schumacher loves collaborating with some of fashion’s familiar names, for example: Elsa Schiaparelli and Karl Lagerfeld. Last year, the historic New York fabricant wallpaper firm reached out to Victor Glemaud about a potential collaboration.

Glemaud, the Haitian-American designer, instantly was accosted with many ideas. In particular, he says that he immediately knew that he would design a blue and white printed fabric that would pay homage to the life of Toussaint Louvreture. At the time, the designer was reading “Black Spartacus,” a book abut the former slave who rose to become the leader of the Haitian Revolution… the most successful slave revolt in modern history. He told Modern Luxury Interiors, “I was reading the book, Black Spartacus, about the life of Toussaint Louvreture, and thought he would be the perfect subject for a toile de Jouy.”

Glemaud’s collection for Schumacher is “an imaginative portfolio of fabrics, wall coverings, and trims inspired by his home country of Haiti.” Celebrating his heritage is at the heart of the designs. Glemaud was born in Haiti; he moved to the United States at age three and was raised in Queens. Prior to founding his own label in 2016, the designer worked for several premier fashion houses in a number of different roles including studio director and publicist.

Glemaud graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology; he says he always aspired to become a fashion designer. Growing up, Glemaud was keenly interested in his father’s knitwear sweaters; as a result, this lead him to launch his knitwear collection in 2016. With all of this in mind, Glemaud’s family and country of birth remain at the heart of his collections.

The collaboration with Schumacher is Glemaud’s first foray into home design. Called Cul-De-Sac, the collection is named after his mother, sister, aunts, and female best friends. The designs “feature luxurious saturated colors, patterns and textures that vary in scale and subject matter.”

Really and truly, each pattern has a personal significance. For example, the Julie is named for the designer’s mother and grandmother, and the Fabienne (a hand-painted hibiscus design) was inspired by Haiti’s national flower. A third design, the Jessie, was influenced by a loudly graphic, 1970s-inspired panel fabric… similar to the designer’s unique take on knitwear.

Dara Caponigro, Schumacher’s creative director said, “When Victor Glemaud first came across my radar, I was immediately smitten and knew his sensibility would translate beautifully into the world of home. His wallpapers, fabrics and trims for Schumacher capture the same spirit of sophistication, fun, ease and seduction that his fashion does. They feel fresh and stylish- outside of the box yet never trying too hard.”

The collection launched with fourteen patterns, each with three or four color-ways. In all, 33 SKUs are available. Similar to Glemaud’s fashion creations, color and texture are pivotal. As the designer himself said, “Color and texture are pillars within the DNA of my brand, and it’s my hope to bring a sense of joyfulness to all that experience the range.”

Gleumad’s design house is not new to collaborations… last year was especially fruitful in this department. We love the collaboration with Clements Ribeiro, the London-based fashion label. The pair, partners in life and business, are quite different from one another; perhaps that is what makes their creations so magical. And add to that the fact that Clements is British and Ribeiro is Brazilian, and it is no wonder that there is constantly a distinct yin-yang pull.

So many adjectives can be used to explain their capsule collection; among those we think are most fitting: elegant, dynamic, eclectic, and feminine. And that’s just a start…