Style News: Stephen Sprouse
Signed Stephen Sprouse
The Downtown Designer Reimagines Knoll's Classic Fabrics
June 28, 2003 – Having made his name as a darling of the eighties fashion and music scenes, Stephen Sprouse has done nothing if not diversify of late. The graffiti guru launched a patriotic Fourth of July collection for Target last year, followed by a star turn in Paris chez Louis Vuitton. This September die-hard fans will literally be able to move in with Sprouse, whose latest venture is a collaboration with KnollTextiles. "Working with Knoll was cool," says the designer, "because it was B-I-G. Working on that kind of scale, with drapery and a Mies van der Rohe sofa, was great." Sprouse has injected a dose of twenty-first century attitude into the company's clean, mid-century-modern aesthetic, with names to match. Techno Tweed is a reworking of company founder Florence Knoll's classic Cato fabric, with knubby wool replaced by a mix of fluorescent neon plastic and polyester. Static Screen is based on the random patterns generated by a dysfunctional TV. And Graffiti Camo features the Declaration of Independence scrawled across a camouflage-printed piece of Extreme Velvet. Sprouse has also gone to town with some of Knoll's signature furniture—like tagging Barcelona chairs with graffiti—though these items are for exhibition only.
There may even be a ray of hope for those who covet more Sprouse clothes: "It's great to think that a house will be wearing my fabrics," says the designer. But he can't help adding, "The static pattern would make sexy dresses...."
— Laird Borrelli