$348.00
The Original Banana Leaf Print. Upon returning from vacation in the South Seas in 1942, Remy & Lucile Chatain sought to recreate not just the rich visual landscapes they had experienced in the tropics, but the sense of lushness and exuberance those sights had filled them with, too.
Together with their friend, noted illustrator and textile designer Albert Stockdale, they designed a large-scale botanical pattern to recapture and evoke those feelings, and mounted it in their showroom.
When Don Loper, the well-known apparel and interior designer tasked with the Beverly Hills Hotel redesign came into their showroom, he knew he’d found the look he wanted. He re-created the Chatains’ mural-style installation he’d seen at the showroom, and expanded it to fit the corridors of the hotel. The result? An ageless icon.
For over 75 years, CW Stockwell has proudly been the sole producer of the authentic Martinique® banana leaf fabric and wallpaper.
The story of our legendary banana leaf pattern, as featured in AD's monthly "Object Lesson" column, which tells the stories of iconic designs.
Written by Hannah Martin
Architectural Digest, April 2019
