Bernat Klein: Exhibition to honour textile designer who took fashion world by storm from the Scottish Borders

Gerard Ortiz
Bernat Klein at a single of the looms in his mill at Galashiels in August 1966. Photo: Denis Straughan

Now the lifestyle and function of the late Bernat Klein, whose celebrated tweets and mohairs were being impressed by the landscape about his household and studio in the Borders, are to be honoured in his adopted place.

The Countrywide Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh has announced ideas to phase a major exhibition drawn from a broad archive of Klein substance it acquired in 2010 – four yrs in advance of he handed away at the age of 91.

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It will remember how vibrant tweeds and mohairs produced in Galashiels came to dominate international catwalks during the 1960s thanks to collaborations with Pierre Cardin, Dior, Nina Ricci, Ronald Patterson, Yves St Laurent, John Cavanagh, Hardy Aimes, Mattli and Victor Stiebel.

Group of 6 woven womenswear material samples of mohair tweed designed by Bernat Klein in 1965. Photo Countrywide Museums Scotland

It will take a look at how Klein, a champion of modernist architecture and style, developed fabrics for style and interiors, functioning as a color specialist and industrial designer for numerous British and Scandinavian corporations.

The Klein archive held by the museum encompasses much more than 4,000 objects, which include garments, textiles, paintings, style and design improvement function and push content.

The exhibition will also characteristic displays of recently-acquired do the job demonstrating Klein’s affect and legacy, together with by textile designers Ascher Ltd and Tibor Reich.

Klein was born in Senta, Yugoslavia (now Serbia) in 1922, into a loved ones included in the textile field.

Design Jean Shrimpton wears a go well with by Monte-Sano & Pruzan produced from Bernat Klein material in 1963. Photograph: Condé Nast

Klein originally analyzed fine art at the Bezalel College of Arts and Crafts in Jerusalem and painted in the course of his life, taking inspiration from the organic environment, and experimenting with colour and texture.

Klein was heavily motivated by contemporary artwork and colour principle, and fascinated by the do the job of French post-Impressionist artist Georges Seurat.

He went on to analyze at Leeds College and was utilized by various organizations in Scotland and England until he set up his individual company in Galashiels in 1952.

In the early 1960s, Klein developed a variety of ground-breaking woven womenswear materials, which showcased daring color results and surprising combos of materials, these types of as velvet ribbon with brushed mohair. Klein experimented to perfect a method named ‘space-dyeing’, which permitted a solitary cloth to comprise multiple colours.

A Bernat Klein rug entitled ‘Tulip Petals’. Photo: Countrywide Museums Scotland

His breakthrough into the European couture sector arrived when his mohair tweed fabric was decided on by Coco Chanel for her spring collection in 1963.

Klein lived in the Borders in a specially-commissioned Modernist property made by architect Peter Womersley.

The National Museum, which is staging the exhibition involving November and April, stated it would chart a 60-year career as a textile designer, artist, educator and color expert.

Lisa Mason, assistant curator of contemporary and modern day style and design at the museum, explained: “Bernat Klein was a key figure in Modernist design and style, and just one of the 20th century’s most celebrated textile designers.

A Bernat Klein-intended wool and mohair tweed fit. Photograph: Nationwide Museums Scotland

“His archive is remarkably broad and loaded, and this attractive exhibition will display screen some of its highlights, examining his excellent contribution to the style and design environment and his ongoing legacy and influence.

“The Scottish Borders have been his property and inspiration for 6 many years, and the exhibition will also discover the tale of the romance among his operate, the landscape and the neighborhood textile market.”

A portray by Bernat Klein entitled Autumn Trees. Image: Countrywide Museums Scotland
Bernat Klein lived in Substantial Sunderland, in Selkirk, for 56 a long time soon after moving to Scotland. Image: Countrywide Museums Scotland
Exterior of Bernat Klein mill in Galashiels, captured in August 1966. Photo: Denis Straughan
Large Sunderland, in Selkirk, was commissioned for textile designer and artist Bernat Klein and his relatives in 1956. Photograph: Nationwide Museums Scotland
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