Trina Turk’s bright, bold prints are synonymous with summer. So this issue is the perfect home for her story. Below, we chronicle the brand’s journey from fashion to the interiors market, as the veteran fashion designer highlights how she translated her unique pattern work into a new
world.
Designing for herself…
Turk started her own fashion line in 1995. “My career up until then had focused on juniors—a younger price point customer,” she explained. “So one goal was to design clothing I would wear myself.” Once she focused on that, things took off. But now that the retail landscape has been reshaped by the digital revolution, price deflation in apparel, tourism declines, and shifts in spending patterns, the company’s focus today is to maintain a compelling, fun shopping environment that makes it unique.
From the beginning…
Her graphic prints matched with vivid color resonated immediately. “I had been collecting vintage prints at the flea market for years,” she said. The company also purchases print artwork from various studios to use as inspiration (or they can start from scratch too). So the hand of an artist is evident throughout the brand’s distinctive style. “We have two amazing textile designers on our team that do great work interpreting source material into prints that read ‘Trina Turk.’”
A familiar hobby…
Turk and her husband share a passion for mid-century design and architectural preservation, and have toured many historic sites to glean inspiration for their own homes. “The unique architecture in Los Angeles and Palm Springs is essential to the personality of these locales,” she explained. “Mid-century modern in California is an expression of the same sunny optimism that is integral to our brand identity—it’s all related!”
Mixing pleasure with business…
It was by a natural extension when Turk placed her foot into the nearby box of the home textiles market (officially) in 2009 and partnered with Schumacher to launch Trina Turk Indoor/Outdoor, and also opened the Trina Turk Residential store in Palm Springs. “Our strong print identity and our extensive archive of prints made it relatively easy to merchandise groups and edit patterns to create product that made sense for home. Not every pattern can work in every category, but we have found that a great print can work on a bikini or a sofa—we just have to adapt the colors and the scale to make sense for the end use.”
What the future holds…
While they are not currently directly involved in commercial design projects, the home line has been used in such properties like the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Fla. “We would like to expand our home products into any category where print makes sense. I love textiles first and foremost, and would love to be creating textiles for every part of the home.”
