What is Moiré?

The Story of Moiré

Shimmering and rippling, like gently moving water. Moiré is one of the most mesmerising yet mysterious of textile terms. We’ve delved into the history of the technique, explored its recent revival in interior design, and discovered how Harlequin and Henry Holland collaborated to create our own contemporary take — Elsworthy — in the form of wallpaper and fabric.

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The History of Moiré Textiles

Moiré has made many moves through history. The term is originally from the French word moirer, meaning ‘a watered textile’, which has its origins as far back as medieval England, and later became a formal, regal, and papal fabric from the 1600s.

Moiré isn’t a fibre per se, but instead describes a structure or technique applied to a material. Historically, the craft process started as a plain-woven fabric, often using silk, and later with the likes of linen or viscose.

The fabric is moistened, then run through specially patterned rollers under high temperature and pressure. This process is called calendaring, where certain fibres are altered, and others are left alone. This results in a surface that contrasts between gloss and matte — catching the light with a fluid, glistening quality. An association with stiff formality began to fade during the mid-20th century, as couture fashion houses such as Dior and Givenchy increasingly debuted moiré evening dresses.

hnery holland suit moire elsworthy design

The Story of Elsworthy

Harlequin’s foray into moiré began during our collaboration with fashion designer and ceramicist, Henry Holland. He was first inspired to use moiré within the home after selecting a moiré suit jacket for his wedding. And this became the starting point for the Elsworthy design, part of our Henry Holland x Harlequin collection.

Charlotte Gibson, Lead Designer of Harlequin, explains how, using the suit jacket as a starting point, she found an original moiré design in the Sanderson Design Group archive.

“Rather than simply reproducing the document, I translated it into a refined moiré surface but played with techniques to give it a greater sense of depth.

For the Elsworthy wallpaper, I reworked the artwork into a seamless repeat and softened it with a delicate strié, then finished with a subtle embossed layer so the surface catches and diffuses light, capturing the rippling quality of a traditional woven moiré. The palette was intentionally reduced, easing back the contrast to create tonal shifts, which allows the pattern to emerge through light and shadow, rather than overt definition.

My intention with the Moiré was to elevate the design for a more contemporary interior, while paying homage to the signature, elevated style of Harlequin and Henry Holland. I really love the result and have the Elsworthy wallpaper in my house in the Neptune green colourway.”

Elsworthy is now available as both a wallpaper and a fabric, in soft shades of Dusk and Porcelain as well as bolder hues including Matcha green, Nectar yellow and Rose pink.