Textile makers’ fascination with plants, of course, is nothing new. For centuries, flowers have provided both subject and substance: from Marie-Jeanne “Rose” Bertin’s floral adornments for Marie Antoinette, to the use of plants as dyes and embellishment, to the countless ways petals, stems, and leaves have been translated into thread. Beyond cloth, floral forms have appeared in ribbon, print, and paint, their shapes endlessly reinterpreted.

In this issue, we explore the enduring relationship between textiles and the botanical world. We visit the Southampton garden of textile designer Jack Lenor Larsen, shaped by Japanese ideas of balance and restraint, and encounter the delicate cut-paper florals of Japanese artist Fumi Imamura. Flowers emerge as a favoured motif for embroidery in Lanto Millington Synge’s collection, donated to the Ulster Museum, while in Corsica, a community of women comes together to celebrate the flora and fauna of their island home through stitch.

Elsewhere, haute couture designers draw on botanical imagery at the Palais Galliera in Paris; vintage tablecloths are reworked into shirts with a twist by Christina Garcia; and Aneeth Arora offers a riotous homage to Tana Lawn, Liberty of London’s perennial favourite. Across these diverse practices, plants remain a source of structure and freedom, discipline and abundance – much like a garden itself.

Polly Leonard, Founder