Passementerie adornments in both fashion and interior textiles date back to ancient Egyptian and Greek civilisations. By the 16th and 17th centuries these details were crafted from gold, silver, silk, or cotton threads and in the 19th were often colourful and embellished with beads, shells, wood, or crystals. There are now a myriad of passementerie available to interior designers, ranging from classic cords and braids to borders, fringing, tassels, tiebacks, ropes, rosettes, and bows – to name a few – manufactured using an endless list of compositions.
There are many profiles of passementerie, each with their own stylistic features and purpose. When used as an embellishment, trimmings can emphasise bold patterns, bring contrast through colour, or blend harmoniously into the space. Not only aiding in the elegant expression of a cohesive design scheme, passementerie also help to protect the edges of soft furnishings and conceal seams. In this article we illustrate the most popular styles and applications within interior spaces.
