LOS ANGELES — Fabric designer Lulu de Kwiatkowski, whose elaborate and whimsical textiles adorn the homes of clients like Diane von Furstenberg and Carolina Herrera, is about to do for leather furniture what she has done for upholstery and cushion covers.
In September, stores across the U.S. will be carrying the new Lulu DK for Elite line, a collaboration between New York-based de Kwiatkowski and Los Angeles leather furniture maker, Elite Leather. The collection was unveiled at the recent High Point International Furniture show in North Carolina.
“For me, it was about how to make leather different and fun,” said de Kwiatkowski, a Parsons School of Design grad who honed her design skills in Paris. “Leather is often looked at as quite conservative or severe. I wanted to bring things to it that you don’t usually see in leather.”
There are 13 pieces in the leather collection, including screens, couches, side tables and coffee tables. Signature pieces include an all-white couch with multicolored buttons studded into the seat cushions and one with Oriental red lacquer legs. There are also unexpected combinations like chocolate brown piped with pale blue.
“They are not your average square, modern sofas in black and brown,” de Kwiatkowski said. “Everything has its own character. If a back is straight, then the arm is curved. There are nuances throughout.”
Gabrielle Galardo, vice president of marketing for Elite, said de Kwiatkowski was the perfect match for the company’s first licensing project.
“We had the same point of view when it came to design. She takes into account style, but also function and comfort and how a piece will apply to everyday life. So many designers out there will design a unique and beautiful piece of furniture that’s not livable.”
Galardo said the Lulu DK collection brought “a femininity” to leather furniture that is otherwise hard to find. The collection will be sold at Bloomingdale’s, Marshall Field’s in Chicago and independents like Foremost Furniture in New York.
Jim Coia, vice president of furniture at Bloomingdale’s, said the store’s leather furniture business was among its strongest. “It’s exactly the kind of sophisticated design that our customers will react to,” he said.
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With retail prices at about $2,000 for chairs, $3,000 for sofas and up to $4,000 for screens, the collection is aimed at the high-end consumer, and one that is savvy about interior spaces.
“I love the feeling of walking into a house and feeling absolutely comfortable in there,” said de Kwiatkowski. “It’s important to have a piece of furniture that doesn’t bore you. It’s what I try and achieve with fabrics, whether it’s a throw pillow or something just to smack on a wall. You need to be constantly happy with it, instead of exhausted.”