The Victorian Fabric My Mom Loved in the ’90s Is Having a Major Comeback
The fashion and home decor worlds overlap so much, I’m not surprised at the latest intersection: moiré fabric. First used in the late Middle Ages but especially popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for fancy clothing and fine drapery, moiré has a wavy, almost rippled-water-like appearance that’s created through a calendering process, where the fabric is dampened and run through high-pressure and high-temperature rollers.
The result is a beautiful, shiny-meets-matte, tone-on-tone look that changes with the light. The literal meaning of “moiré” in French is “watered,” so moiré often gets associated with French culture, and it’s said that King Louis XV favored clothing and furniture bearing the pattern and even swathed entire walls in it.
When I spoke to designer Rachel Antonoff about her limited-edition holiday cookie jars for Pepperidge Farm, she brought up how moiré, a fabric often used in fashion, is also turning up in home decor.
Our conversation also reminded me that my mom used to make moiré boxes in the ’90s when I was a kid. They were covered in ruffled moiré silk in various jewel tones and decked out with hot-glued trims. We had one in our bathroom for little odds and ends, and she used to give them as housewarming or holiday gifts from time to time. I think she also made a few moiré outfits for my teddy bears — and I think we had at least one moiré frame or moiré-covered photo album, thanks to her.
While I haven’t seen my mother’s ruffled boxes or photo albums making an appearance in anyone’s spring decor collections just yet, pillows, trims, and even wallpapers have been taking advantage of moiré’s distinct striated look. Moiré pops up a ton on Etsy and in other marketplaces, and Apartment Therapy Design Changemaker and designer Bradley L. Bowers has an assortment of wallpaper with a modern pattern, aptly named the Moire collection, which plays on the optical illusion this historic pattern taps into. You can find a lot of vintage moiré pieces as well — namely, textiles and furniture covered in the pattern.
I found a few more examples of moiré out in the market. If you want to add a some French-inspired flair to your home, consider any of these fabulous finds. A hit of moiré is always a win if you want a little touch of formalness in a room.
