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You are here: Home / Blog posts / Design Heroes, part one- Leon Bakst

Design Heroes, part one- Leon Bakst

April 29, 2019 By Sophie

29 Apr

 

Inspiration is a curious thing and so too is how images seep through into the subconscious. It wasn’t until researching a theatre design project at art school that I realised how deeply influenced I was by Russian designers and illustrators, particularly Ivan Bilibin and Leon Bakst.  The Longstaff Longstaff  Pinterest page has beautiful images of Leon Bakst’s work and other Design Heroes

Leon Bakst (1866-1924) was an extraordinary designer who found fame with Sergei Diaghilev and the Ballet Russes designing costumes and sets for many of the ground breaking productions such as L’après-midi d’un Faune and Schéhérazade. His designs have a flowing energy, grand flourishes of pattern and form and a raw sensuality which echo the avant garde music composed by Stravinsky and Rimsky-Korsakov for the Ballet Russes. His fairy tale creatures are frightening, the women full bodied and unafraid and the men are flamboyant and both effeminate and powerful at the same time.

Costume design by Russian designer Leon Bakst for a Young Beotian

Character is central to any costume design and Bakst’s talent was to be able to express character through fabric and pattern. No corner of his designs was left plain and yet the balance of pattern and space allows the eye to take in the glorious details without being swamped or overwhelmed. Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes was enormously popular at the time and Bakst’s designs soon influenced fashion and interior design.

His work inspired me to design on a large scale, working on big sheets of paper in a large (sometimes huge!) repeat format.  I love working like that but it took me a while to realise how much extra work I was making for myself. His style might be described as maximalism but but each line and pattern is necessary to convey his idea. In that sense, nothing is ‘extra’ or unnecessary. There is a huge sense of riotous energy in his work and his use of colour and pattern always reminds me to do what I love, don’t be afraid. One hundred years later, he is still fresh and able to inspire and influence; most definitely one of my design heroes.

Paisley design by Longstaff Longstaff

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design by Leon Bakst for the Firebird Ballet Russes

Design Heroes, part one- Leon Bakst

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Ta da! 💥💥💥 Harlequin's Dream, our new pr Ta da! 💥💥💥 
Harlequin's Dream, our new print. Haven't even put it online yet. A little bit of black and white chess board going on (have you been watching #queensgambit ? 👌) and a lot of freehand paisley going on (because Indian patterns are never far from my mind) ❤️❤️❤️
Amazing job by @thesilkbureau 💯 
Only 5 metres printed and I may have to be our first customer 😍🎄. If you want to beat me to it, better let us know 💥
scroll down to see when it was work in progress
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We're inspired by feminine strength in all its gui We're inspired by feminine strength in all its guises and that definitely includes silk shirts and pussycat bows. Our brand new long skinny scarf goes perfectly with a matching D'Arblay shirt - wear them together and you'll be embracing #abovethekeyboarddetails
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A unicorn's tail of silk scarves. Though I was muc A unicorn's tail of silk scarves. Though I was much more into Pegasus than unicorns. ⁠⠀
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Full on summer styling with the Moss Tattoo skinny Full on summer styling with the Moss Tattoo skinny scarf and some lisianthus. (Had these beautiful flowers left over from decorating a lockdown birthday cake for a friend. #wastenotwantnot)⁠ Cake looked pretty too 🍰⁠ Swipe 👀⁠⠀
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You're The One That I Want ⁠⠀ .⁠⠀ can't go You're The One That I Want ⁠⠀
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Friday! And it's the start of The Big Butterfly Co Friday! And it's the start of The Big Butterfly Count #bigbutterflycount. What an excuse to sit outdoors for 15 minutes and count butterflies. (Someone's got to help out and I'm sure drinking while doing it is encouraged 🍹)⁠
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Here's the super summery Cornflower Butterfly, inspired by one of our very first prints 'Lacewing' which used vintage lace to print through butterfly stencils.  Swipe through to see Lacewing and our new skinny scarf in Cornflower Butterfly. ⁠
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👀 Take a look at the notebooks in our online sh 👀 Take a look at the notebooks in our online shop at the moment. We've been able to use up swatches and experimental prints & colourways on our beautiful A6 notebooks. And we've got a few left with lined paper for those who need a bit of order!⁠⠀
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Tangerine Pomegranate scarf ⁠⠀
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I'm glad Boohoo is investigating the scandal that I'm glad Boohoo is investigating the scandal that some of their UK suppliers are paying staff £3.50 per hour. But don't tell me they didn't know and in fact have built their business model based on callous calculations. How can you sell a dress for £15 and think that everyone is getting paid fairly and treated properly? Only by turning a blind eye. ⁠⠀
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