Toiles de Jouy: French Printed Cottons

Originally referring only to the famed fabrics of Jouy-en-Josas,‘toiles de Jouy’ has today become the catch-all term for the delightful printed cottons preferred by the aristocratic elite in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century France, made famous by the palaces of Marie-Antoinette and Empress Josephine. Sarah Grant introduces the design, dyeing, and printing processes that created these textiles, and their role in interior decoration and clothing, both then and now. Sumptuous new photography of the V&A’s extensive toiles collection illustrates the cottons’ diversity – floral, literary, antique, allegorical, bucolic and ‘exotic’, among others – offering inspiration to everyone with an interest in textiles and interiors.