…………………..Every season we added a print or two to each group of clothing to work as a coordinate or as a stand alone piece. We would call in 5 or 6 different print companies to look at the lines. These were companies from England, Italy and the USA that had a team of print designers in each country who created prints to sell. Many times I had an idea for a print and had our own team develop it…..That was the case for “The Rope Of Pearls” print. I took some strands of pearls and laid them on a printer. I tried many different layouts until I chose one that I liked the best. The ivory pearls above is the layout I chose for the print. Then I gave it to the print developer. Elaine had 3 or 4 “print people” who had different jobs developing prints. I always worked with the same person, Katherine. She took my photocopy and developed a layout and repeat. Then she planned out the amount of screens it would take to achieve the look, and the amount of colors that would be needed. When we agreed on the final amount of screens needed she would start to create different color combinations on the computer. That was the fun part. We would sit together and choose colors from a book that was part of the computer program. There were literally hundreds of colors to choose from. Above is just a sampling of the colors we developed. The hard part was picking two or three depending on how many the buyer wanted to purchase.
I loved that print so much. I still have the mocha, but at one time I also had an orchid pink and a turquoise blue. I have two large drawers filled with various tops in your polyester jersey. This print is probably one of the oldest. I thought the medallion print ones might have come from about the same time.
Carol, you are right. The Medallion print was the same year. I like the pearl print now even more than when I did it because after all these years I see how unique it is.
I have this top in the orange, and love it still. So chic.
Louis, I continue to enjoy looking at your collages and reading your descriptions – it’s fascinating how some of your designs/prints were developed. How did you and Elaine meet?
Seka