PIERRE FREY ARCHIVES

The archives of Pierre Frey hold one of the most extraordinary textile collections in the world. Established in 2003, the archives were created to conserve, inventory, and celebrate an ever-growing trove of textiles, wallpapers, documents, and historic designs — spanning from the 16th century to today.

Unlike static museum collections, the Pierre Frey archives are living. Each season, designers delve into these drawers of history to rediscover patterns, motifs, and materials that shape new collections. The result is a dialogue between centuries; a conversation of texture, technique, and imagination.

Housed in a conservation room built to museum standards, the archives contain over 25,000 documents, everything from tiny textile fragments to large-scale palace fabrics. The selection ranges widely: Indian silks, wood-block printed Toiles de Jouy, and even a reproduction of a 1775 Jaillot map of Paris, later reinterpreted as wallpaper.

These archives are more than a design reference; they are a creative reservoir. Pierre Frey’s design teams draw directly from the archives to revive forgotten techniques, reimagine color palettes, and reinterpret historical patterns for the modern home. The archives also support institutional restorations, including collaborations with the Louvre, where Pierre Frey reproduced 18th-century silk for the museum’s decorative arts galleries.

When I visited the archives, I was guided by Sophie Rouart, who has managed them since their founding. Her passion for preservation and design was palpable. As she pulled open drawer after drawer of centuries-old fabrics, she spoke about how each textile tells a story — not only of its maker, but of the time and place from which it came.

That experience reminded me that design is storytelling. In the world of Pierre Frey, the past is never past it’s woven into every new creation, thread by thread.