LUSTRE COLLECTION · THE ART OF SONG BROCADE

Lustre

A world of pattern,
held in the weave.

Explore the craft View the earrings
Verdant Gleam

03 / 03

Woven into the act of looking

A cloth that
held a painting.

Closely associated with Suzhou, Song brocade developed during the Song dynasty. Its life extended beyond clothing: it was also used to mount paintings and calligraphy, surrounding works that would be unrolled, studied and carefully kept.

Some examples survive because they remained with those scrolls. The fabric becomes part of a larger history of looking and preserving: colour and pattern accompanying another work of art.

Structure

The pattern forms through the interlacing of warp and weft. Cloth and image are woven together.

Colour

Coloured threads and their arrangement in the weave bring different tones to the surface.

Order

Geometric frameworks can hold floral and other motifs, giving the surface a measured rhythm.

THREE MOVEMENTS · SIX MOMENTS

Before the cloth.
The order of a pattern.

From a drawing to the meeting of coloured threads. Six points of attention reveal a craft with many operations; design, preparation and weaving are closely connected.

01 / DESIGN

Give the pattern
its rhythm.

A motif has its own shape. Repetition gives it a place within the cloth.

Pattern design · Reviewing the repeatView image +
01

Compose the pattern

Motifs, repeats and colour relationships are considered together. Geometric frameworks holding flowers and other forms are characteristic of many Song brocades. The spacing between motifs is part of the design.

02

Prepare the pattern plan

The drawing must become a plan for weaving. Traditional pattern preparation includes tiao huaben, organising the pattern for the loom. The way that information is prepared and carried into weaving depends on the equipment and workshop.

02 / PREPARE

Separate threads.
A shared structure.

Colour is prepared in the yarn. Order is established at the loom.

Loom preparation · Checking the warpView image +
03

Prepare silk & colour

Silk preparation and dyeing provide the threads for the design. Colour is considered alongside the role each yarn will play in the cloth: lengthwise warp and crosswise weft.

04

Set the loom

The warp is arranged and supported under tension, and the loom is set up to follow the pattern plan. The preparation of its threads and pattern-control system determines how the cloth can be woven.

03 / WEAVE

Cloth and pattern.
Made together.

Each crossing contributes to the surface. Colour moves through the same structure.

Before the next pass · Preparing the shuttleView image +
05

Interlace warp & weft

Selected warp threads lift to open a passage for the weft. As the threads interlace, the fabric and its motifs take shape together. In Song brocade, warp and coloured weft both contribute to the visible pattern.

06

Change colour within the weave

Traditional caipao huanse changes coloured weft during weaving, enriching the surface through colour and structure. This belongs to the ongoing weaving process. Look across the finished cloth to see how one motif returns, changes and joins the next.

Craft references: Song brocade · China Intangible Cultural Heritage; Traditional pattern preparation; Suzhou heritage record.

A general introduction to the craft. Workshop methods vary. Process imagery: AI-generated craft illustrations, not records of Olsevi production.

Silverwork · The presence of a lineView image +

The Olsevi dialogue

A woven world.
A considered frame.

The history of brocade around a painted image offers a point of reflection for Lustre: how a boundary changes what we notice within it.

In Olsevi’s design language, silver gives textile a distinct contour. The woven surface invites attention to colour, repetition and the smaller details held within a pattern.

The Olsevi story

LUSTRE COLLECTION · TWO FORMS

A collection
in embroidery.

Song brocade in two forms: Verdant Gleam and Gilded Frond. Deep green and pale gold reveal different rhythms of the weave.

Lustre · Olsevi

An order seen.
A detail discovered.

From the rhythm of a repeat to the meeting of individual threads, Lustre invites a slower way of looking.

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