What if one textile could do it all? If all our concerns about how to appoint and upholster our chairs, carpets, walls, and windows could simply fall by the wayside and find umbrage under the purview of one classic fabric with 62 different and uniquely lovely colors? Surely some rather enjoy the challenge, and that’s as it should be, but I for one would never mind recourse to the classic pattern by designer Nanna Ditzel—Kvadrat’s 1965 Hallingdal Upholstery Fabric.

Demographically Speaking. Designed by Ministry of Design with Hallingdal Fabric by Nanna Ditzel. Manufactured by Kvadrat.

Contemporary Designers Discover New Uses for Kvadrat’s Classic Hallingdal Fabric

The fabric has always been as famous for its look as for its feel. A 70/30 wool/viscose blend with a tight weave and pronounced texturality, Hallingdal has been a go-to choice for discerning designers and their clients for over 45 years.

The longevity is in large measure owed to Hallingdal’s flexibility, a product of the multiple color options—62 in all—that give users unparalleled aesthetic versatility. But perhaps never before has the world seen the kind of creative applications recently on display at Salone, where Kvadrat unveiled their Hallingdal 65 retrospective/homage.

This exhibit, perhaps best summed up in Kvadrat’s teaser (“7 renowned curators. 32 talented designers. 1 iconic textile.”), intended a tribute to the extraordinary longevity of Hallingdal: “at a time when that quality seems rarer than ever, Kvadrat has invited a new generation of designers to create entirely new works using the textile and explore new applications for the fabric.”

The list of participating curators and designers reads like a who’s who of contemporary design—just for starters, Tord Boontje, Raw Edges, Atelier Takagi, Todd Bracher, and Martí Guixé. And the resultant product is enchanting and innovative, extraordinarily creative and consistently cutting edge. There’s Jonathan Olivares’ Chaise, a long swath of mustardy Hallingdale draped elegantly over a tubular steel frame; or Pauline Deltour’s Carousel, featuring loops of several different colors hung beneath a circular table top with a carnival-esque joie de’vivre; or Ministry of Design’s Demographically Speaking, a series of poufs, ottomans, and circular couches stitched together with varied Hallingdal fabrics such to resemble technicolor tomatoes or the most joyous many-hued pin cushion you’ve ever seen.

About the Manufacturer: Everybody knows, when you want a quality textile that speaks to luxury, longevity, and fine design you go with Kvadrat. Since 1968, this Danish firm has “continuously sought to push the aesthetic, technological, and artistic boundaries of textiles, working with a roster of the world’s top designers, architects, and artists.” Among the latter, one finds such luminaries as Alfredo Häberli, Peter Saville, Akira Minagawa, Tord Boontje, David Adjaye, and Olafur Eliasson. Kvadrat fabrics have been used in NYU’s Museum of Modern Art, the Reichstag in Berlin, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao.