Eye-wateringly bright: classic Pucci

Pick any era in history and you’re guaranteed to find print. From Celtic cloaks to Victorian sprigged muslin, print has always been an integral part of fashion.  Once confined to the elite, Samuel Simon’s invention of the screen print in 1907 changed everything: prints could now be incorporated into pieces simply and cheaply, making highly decorated pieces available to everyone. As printing techniques developed, so did the designs. From florals to psychedelica, print has become a mainstay of the fashion industry.

The Psychedelic Sixties

While print and decorative embroidery have always been popular, print really took off in the 1960s with the arrival of the ‘prince of print’, Emilio Pucci. His swirling, colourful, psychedelic creations perfectly captured the zeitgeist.  Influenced by Art Nouveau and Art Deco, the late 60s and 70s were fertile ground for print makers.  New innovations simplified the screen printing process and new talent emerged from the Royal College of Art and Central St Martins.

Names such as Bill Gibb, Celia Birtwell, and Zandra Rhodes burst on to the scene, making print a key part of their work.  Bill Gibb illuminated his creations with print while Zandra Rhodes allowed the shape of her prints to guide the cut of the cloth and shape of her garment.  The beautiful designs created by Celia Birtwell influenced and inspired the silhouette and design of pieces by her husband, Ossie Clark. But the most famous print to come out of the 70s was the Liberty print. Created by design director, Bernard Nevill, his repeat floral patterns in soft colours were an immediate hit

Goodbye Prints?

During the 80s and early 90s print fell from favour. Milanese designers Versace, Gucci and Armani dominated and their high octane, high glamour vision didn’t include the subtler charms of print. Print became a vehicle for subversive and anarchic comment: the slogan t-shirts of designers such as Vivienne Westwood and Katherine Hamnett aimed to shock, using it to enrage rather than enhance.  The conceptual designer Martin Margiela printed garment patterns onto fabric during the 90s, challenging traditional ideas of decoration.  But although print was on the backburner, it wasn’t forgotten. Designers such as Eley Kishimoto continued to work with print, building up extensive portfolios of new and unique prints.  Jonathan Saunders is a newer addition to the print-makers pack.  Saunders’ ‘engineered prints’ use traditional screen printing techniques, but are designed to hang in a specific way.  Borrowing from the Zandra Rhodes school of textile design, Saunders’ prints are developed alongside the shapes and seams of the garment pattern; a synthesis of print and cut.

The new generation: Holly Fulton

The New Generation

A new crop of printers emerged from the grunge and minimalism of the 90s with fresh ideas and new technology.  Using the newest innovations, these designers have pushed the boundaries of print production.  Advances in photographic printing and the emergence of digital methods have provided designers with new ways of creating prints.  Among pioneers of the new digital methods were design duo Basso & Brooke whose 2004 Fashion Fringe collection was made entirely of digitally printed textiles.

Marios Schwab, William Tempest and Erdem soon followed suit showing slick, digital prints which quickly built up cult followings. Bright young things Mary Katrantzou and Holly Fulton have returned to prints’ Art Deco and Art Nouveau roots, reworking them for the 21st century with bold graphics on modern silhouettes.  For S/S11 even the famously restrained Stella McCartney acquired a taste for playful print, using giant orange motifs on her jumpsuits.

With constant flood of new techniques and designs becoming ever more innovative, the last five years have seen a second coming for the humble print. Even the high street has begun championing print with Zandra Rhodes and Celia Birtwell creating diffusion lines for Marks and Spencer and John Lewis respectively. Whether it’s sweet sprigs, bold bananas or subtle graphics, fashion has seen the future, and it’s in print.