In focus: Designers Guild at 50

Founded by Tricia Guild in 1970, Designers Guild has an enviable combination of heritage and a founder who is still at the front and centre of the business, guiding the design process and fuelling creativity. The sheer volume of quality designs in the Designers Guild range – almost 9,000 fabrics and 2,000 wall coverings – makes it one of our go-to brands for variety.

It’s such a pleasure to see Designers Guild celebrating fifty years of business in style, with an exhibition at London’s Fashion and Textile Museum paying tribute to the journey undertaken by this incredible brand.

Now run by Guild and her brother Simon Jeffreys, with offices in the UK, New York, Paris and Munich, Designers Guild had far humbler beginnings. A true passion project, the kernel of this international brand was nurtured by Guild in her desire to, “show people a contemporary, innovative way of designing their houses and to stimulate them to make their own choices”, a concept that remains a core theme today.

Initially specialising in Indian block-printed designs, the business has always been open to innovation, and has allowed new technologies to shape its collections, broadening its horizons as new options, such as digital printing, opened up new possibilities. While the Designers Guild signature aesthetic still retains that Indian influence, inspiration for its designs comes from all over the world.

Another huge arc in the Designers Guild story has been its readiness to diversify. The many aspects of its journey are captured by Tricia Guild’s series of books, the first of which, Soft Furnishings, was published in 1980. Her twentieth book, Out of the Blue, coincides with the exhibition of the same name, which is both a celebration of the success of her brand and an insight into her intuitive creative process.

Not only has Designers Guild continued to launch its own brand collections throughout the years, but it's also partnered with other designers, including Christian Lacroix Ralph Lauren and John Derian, to diversify and innovate further.

With two new collections launching every year, the Designers Guild team shows no sign of slowing down in its fiftieth year. Explore Designers Guild’s fabric & wallpaper collections for contemporary inspiration – its Manipur velvets are particular highlights – or delve into the archives to discover the huge range.

Designers Guild wallpaper     |     Designers Guild fabric     |     Designers Guild curtains