Image Credit to Chris Boyd. Source: Francis Sultana

One of UK’s foremost interior and furniture designers, Francis Sultana has recently launched a stunning new collection, named Narmina and inspired by Coco Chanel. Sultana’s collection is an active symbol of support to the crafts industry since techniques such as patinated bronze, crystal veneers and straw marquetry were utilised. It is comprised of a series of furniture, upholstery lighting, and accessories in finishes like rattan, tweed, velvet, rock, crystal, marquetry, mica.

Baku centre table

“The fabrics used within this collection include tweeds inspired by Chanel and her “poverty deluxe” style. ‘Poor materials’ like straw and rattan, conjure the ingenuity of Coco. She was the ultimate 20th-century fashion icon, who forged her signature by producing luxe sportswear from humble textiles like jersey and cotton.” – Francis Sultana

Crystal bowls – pink and clear pairs

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Jacopo cabinet

The collection offers a delightful journey through the myriad of influences at work within Francis’s designs, including Art Deco Paris of the 1920s, the work of Coco Chanel & José María Sert and the exotic extravagance of the Indian maharajas.

Jordanna coffee table

Karl console

Striking glamour, sinuous lines and fluid proportions are at work in a series of elegant and Striking glamour, sinuous lines and fluid proportions are at work in a series of elegant and sophisticated pieces. The collection, inspired by one of Francis’s most glamorous of muses, Narmina reveals an exotic interpretation of Paris in the 1920s.

Maxime sideboard

Theo side table

Narmina retains Sultana’s love of artisan craft techniques and use of noble materials: straw marquetry, rock crystal, Sultana’s signature patinated bronze, bespoke silk and hessian tweeds, rattan, leather and pâte de verre are at play within a collection that is contemporary yet firmly nods to one of the most celebrated eras in interior and furniture design. The colour palette incorporates soft pink, clear and golden crystal, amber, sage and forest green, dark bronze, ecru and straw.

Javad armchair

The flamboyance of the Indian Maharajas, renowned Art Deco collectors, can be seen in key pieces such as Javad armchair and Victoire daybed.

Victoire Daybed

Narmina Daybed

Another major influence for the collection is the designer/artist José María Sert aka Jojo Sert. Originally from an immensely rich Catalan family of textile manufacturers, José’s murals covered the walls and ceilings of cathedrals and ballrooms as well as Rockefeller Center in NYC. Pieces such as the Narmina day bed and Turgi sofa, with its strong bronze columns, recall the decadence of Sert’s hand as well as his preference for generous yet streamlined proportions.

Turgi Sofa

Another key element within the collection is the introduction of rock crystal. Misia Sert, Jojo’s wife and best friend to Coco Chanel, placed crystal shards as decorative objects around her sumptuous rue de Rivoli, Paris apartment.

Rocco gueridon

Coco side table

Sultana has reinvented this material, making the crystal both magnificent and modern by working with a painstaking treatment process of applying rock crystal to pieces such as the linear and flowing Rocco gueridon and Coco side table and on the basis of the Petra floor lamp and Nadia table lamp, which both emit a bewitching shimmer akin to semi-precious gemstone.

Nadia table lamp

Petra floor lamp

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