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Michael Szell

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Born in 1930 in Budapest, Szell, in the post-war years, moved to Britain, where he attended the Royal College of Art and opened his showroom in Chelsea in 1969. Christopher Farr Cloth has selected fifteen designs from an archive of more than seventy of Szell's designs. The fabrics are hand-printed by the same print house that originally collaborated with Szell. While the patterns Szell created were originally produced in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, they are as fresh and desirable today as they were when first introduced.

Fusing classic chintz with 1960s psychedelia, Michael Szell’s textiles are as exuberant, richly detailed and unapologetically bold as the designer's life. Arriving in London from Hungary in the post-war years, Szell studied at the Royal College of Art, quickly finding his métier in flamboyant colours, maximalist patterns and overisized motifs. The opening of his Chelsea showroom paved the way for an illustrious career in textile design, including a period as chief stylist at Harrods and multiple royal commissions – notably the Throne Room of Windsor Castle.