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n 1962, when Jackie Kennedy walked CBS through the White House, TV
viewers were treated to the sight of wide-stripe curtains speckled with a
lively daisy motif. The fabric was by Tillett Textiles, whose painterly designs
would adorn virtually all her homes thereafter—not to mention those of
Babe Paley and Bunny Mellon. Today, amid the rolling hills of the Berkshires,
the same textiles are being dusted off for a new generation thanks to
Patrick McBride, the stepgrandson of D.D. and Leslie Tillett, who founded the
company in the 1940s.
Tillett Textiles’ story spans four generations and multiple continents. Patriarch
George Tillett pioneered the silk-screening process in the early 20th century. His
two sons conceived their own textiles after joining a circle of artists, Diego Rivera
among them, in Mexico. There, elder brother Leslie met and fell for D.D. Doctorow,
a photojournalist on assignment for Harper’s Bazaar. The couple relo-
cated to Manhattan, where their designs became the toast of the town,
eventually retreating to the quiet of the Berkshires in the summertime.
Thirty-five years after the Tilletts’ son and daughter-in-law built a
sprawling factory, the same complex still produces each textile by hand,
printing rolls of fabric on long tables. Upstairs, a vast archive contains just
about every screen ever designed. “Nothing at Tillett gets discontinued,”
says McBride, noting that new projects are under way, including collabo-
rations with the Alexander Girard estate and artist Robert Paige, who
was part of the Brooklyn public-works project Onassis spearheaded with
D.D. and Leslie in the 1970s. “To me the legacy of Tillett was so forward
that it still resonates powerfully today.” t4fabrics.com —JANE KELTNER DE VALLE
AD PRO STUDIO VISIT
Hit Refresh
From its Berkshires base, venerable
Tillett Textiles keeps the classics alive
DISCOVERIES
1. PATRICK MCBRIDE OF TILLETT
TEXTILES. 2. GIVERNY FABRIC.
3. TILLETT TEXTILES’ BERKSHIRES
STUDIO. 4. JACKIE KENNEDY AT
HER HYANNIS PORT HOME, WITH
A CHAISE COVERED IN A TILLETT
FABRIC. 5. THE SAME CHRYSAN-
THEMUM PRINT, REIMAGINED IN
NEW COLORS.
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JOIN FOR DESIGN-INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS, AT ARCHDIGESTPRO.COM.AD PRO, THE NEW MEMBERS-ONLY COMMUNITY 1. & 3.: CHRIS MOTTALINI; 2. & 5.: COURTESY OF TILLETT TEXTILES; 4.: THE ESTATE OF JACQUES LOWE
