What is Toile de Jouy?
Toile de Jouy, also called “Jouy Print” or “cloth from Jouy” is a cotton fabric which was created in France, in Jouy-en-Josas, a town close to Versailles, in 1760 by Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf. It is a type of Indiennes (Indian cotton fabric) which describes printed or painted textiles manufactured in Europe between the 17th and the 19th centuries and inspired by textiles made in India. The word “Toile” means fabric.
A little bit of history
In the early 1600s, France was heavily importing Indian cotton which soon became a fabric of choice; even more so when the East India Company was established. Unlike the fabrics used back then such as silk, linen and wool, cotton was resistant, inexpensive and easy to wash. Nonetheless, it soon became a threat to the local textile industries and several European countries imposed a cotton ban in 1686. Once the ban had been lifted, Christophe-Philippe Oberkampf founded his factory and took the opportunity to manufacture indiennes and print on cotton.
Historical events were recorded on the fabric, as well as depictions of populist themes. Apart from depicting events, Toile de Jouy is also characterized by floral or pastoral designs. Thanks to famous painters such as Jean-Baptiste Huet, the drawings on the Toile de Jouy have become really famous over the decades. Oberkampf was inspired by Rococo art and thanks to the help of Huet, they created more than 30,000 patterns.
Most of the time, the drawings were made of one color, either red, blue or black on an off-white background textile. However, it can also sometimes be found the other way around: off-white drawing on a plain color fabric.
Even though its name comes from Jouy-en-Josas, it seems that the city didn’t have the monopoly in manufacturing this fabric. This textile was also produced in other cities in France, such as Mulhouse.
The patterns were previously printed thanks to wooden boards coated with dye. Later, copper boards were used for the printing. This last improvement increased the production of Toile de Jouy as the cooper boards could be transformed into cylinders which make the process much quicker.
It seems that Toile de Jouy became so famous that the queen Marie-Antoinette visited Oberkampf’s factory. The Toile was being so popular that it started being copied overseas too.
How is it used nowadays?
Toile de Jouy is used for different things nowadays. It can be found in decoration, such as curtains, wallpaper, as well as upholstery for chairs or sofas. Moreover, it is frequent to find fine dining or tea sets in these patterns. Finally, it is also commonly found in clothes for dresses or shirts.
More modern patterns have also integrated the Toile de Jouy. It can now feature animals, plants, etc. Famous designers such as Dior, Chloe or Acne Studio used it a lot for their Summer 2019 Collection.
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