Sonia was a painter, textile designer and set designer in Paris during the 1920’s and 1930’s making her part of the fashion scene of Cocco Chanel. She used geometric designs, colourful shapes and lines.
Jacques Heim a Parisian designer and manufacturer of furs shared a fashion studio with her and she participated in the Art Deco International Exposition in 1925.
Sonia Delaunay brought the intense colours and forms of Van Gogh, Gauguin and Cubism into textiles. She expressed colour in terms of musical scales, harmonies and rhythms.
The influence of the Russian patchwork quilts of her childhood were reflected in her work.
Susan Collier was inspired by the work of Sonia in the 1970’s. One of her most famous designs when she worked at Liberty Studio was the Kasak. I remember this style was still popular in the 1980’s.
Sonia stated:
‘He who knows how to appreciate colour relationships, the influence of one colour on another, their contrasts and dissonances, is promised an infinitely diverse imagery’
