New Fabric Line

Templeton is pleased to announce a new collection of fine fabrics and wall coverings designed by acclaimed Greek painter and illustrator Konstantin Kakanias in collaboration with Michael S. Smith. Konstantin Kakanias for Templeton features a broad array of strikingly colored prints on cotton, linen, and hemp, all inspired by the artist’s far-flung travels and his adventures in the worlds of art, fashion, and design.

The line ranges from sprightly florals and leaf motifs to whimsical stripes and dots. A highlight of the collection is Je t’aime, a playful pattern of lipstick kisses based on a series of paintings Kakanias executed nearly two decades ago. All the fabrics and wallpapers are designed for mixing and matching with a coordinating range of textures, patterns, and hues. «The designs are very personal, perhaps even a bit eccentric», Kakanias says. «They capture the delight I felt at particular moments in my life discovering something beautiful and lyrical».

Born in Athens, the artist moved to France at the age of eighteen and soon began working as an illustrator for Vogue Paris and Vogue Italia. He also designed fabrics for Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Lacroix, and other titans of fashion.

He relocated to New York City in 1988, and made his mark on the contemporary art scene with a breakthrough solo exhibition in 1995 at Postmasters gallery. In 1996, he introduced his fictional heroine and alter ego, Mrs. Tependris, a gimlet-eyed doyenne of high society, who has starred in a series of books and magazines.

Based in Los Angeles since the late 1990s, Kakanias continues to explore a broad range of creative endeavors as a multi-media artist with an international following. He has collaborated with Diane von Furstenberg on a comic book, frescoed a church in Spain for Carolina Herrera Jr., and his illustrations make regular appearances in T: The New York Times Style Magazine.

Launched in 2013 by famed interior designer Michael S. Smith, Templeton was inspired by Charles Templeton Crocker’s life-long desire to work with the most sophisticated designers as well as his pursuit of the most beautiful objects in the world. Sourced from generations-old hand-blocking houses in Southeast Asia to mills in the countryside of Scotland and Belgium, Templeton is a bold, modern approach to textiles created by the most talented master craftsmen in the world.