For Uma Wang, the soul of design lies in texture.
Her material choices are more crucial to a garment’s character than its silhouette or structure…although truth be told, she excels in all three.This dedication to the hand is what draws us again and again to her work – while we adore the drama and artistry of her runway shows, the real joy is found touching our way through her showroom.
A floral brocade spun from virgin wool and vegetable silk, a cotton and linen velvet with a peach-like finish and tufted alpaca yarns that layer like the wooly coat of a bison are just a few of the curious fabrics that comprise Uma’s latest delivery. This menagerie of rare and exquisite textiles is made exclusively by The House of Lyria in Prato, Italy. Riccardo Bruni, the creative force behind this studio, believes in infusing his designs with “structure and substance,” through muted palettes, organic materials and wholly unique looming processes.
From Riccardo’s fabric laboratory – the Lyria textile archive is said to contain 30,000+ different works – Uma carefully selects the foundations of her collections. Her evocative narrative is built upon winter-weight cottons modeled after crumbling Venetian plaster and liquid silks dyed with ash and coffee that echo the distressed polish of antique wood. The visual effect is equal parts romantic, gritty and deeply, deeply human. To interact with Uma Wang’s designs intimately is to discover that texture is far from just a matter of the hand, but an element experienced with all five senses.
