Global Passage by Clodagh for Duralee

Irish designer Clodagh suffers from wanderlust. Having traveled to more than 90 countries, her inspiration library includes spice markets in Morocco and desert grasses in Sonora. Deciding to channel her memories, Clodagh partnered with Duralee in order to “reach out democratically” and present a collection of sustainable fabrics. The resulting Global Passage textiles are all 51%+ recycled content:”renewable bamboos, organic cottons, post-consumer recycled content, flaxes, hemps, really a hybrid combination of everything,” explains Katie Miller, Clodagh’s partner in creating the collection.

Global Passage. Designed by Clodagh and Kate Miller for Duralee.

Known for her commitment to the green movement, Clodagh also believes in transnational, intercontinental connectivity. This connection between different peoples and cultures led her to name the collection for Duralee Global Passage: “You can move freely from country to country and from continent to continent, hopefully without a passport. Design is our passport.” The collection is grouped into five colorways: Curry / Jasper, Cardamom / Grass, Azure / Reef, Natural / Peaberry, and Charcoal / Pepper. Curry / Jasper contains solids, weaves, and prints in shades of saffron, gold, orange, rust, and brick. From large-scale tribal to small-scale floral, the patterns can make a bold statement or speak quietly. Cardamom / Grass includes greens, celadons, and neutrals that recall dry grasses. Azure / Reef focuses on cool colors, from sea green to aqua to sapphire and lapis. Natural / Peaberry luxuriates in brown—walnut, chocolate, caramel, coffee, and everything else delectable. Charcoal / Pepper is perhaps the sexiest book, with silvers, greys, and ink blacks.

Global Passage textile, Clodagh for Duralee

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I’d like to see the more dramatic prints—those that draw on indigenous patterns—used to upholster contemporary furniture, much in the way that Al Sabah has done. The patterns that use lines and circles, many of them imperfectly organic, such as the grey and silver fabric featuring ovals of varying sizes that look remarkably like river rocks, might be used to great effect in minimalist rooms as accents. The greatest thing about Global Passage is its breadth: by incorporating so many colors and cultures, Clodagh has designed a collection that can travel wide and far—from city to country and east to west. And the best part is that Global Passage pays close attention to globalism’s impact on the future of the environment while also paying tribute to multi-culturalism.

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