Are You Ready for a Paisley Print Comeback? (2024)

Whether you want it back or not, paisley print is going to be the next pattern to experience a revival wave. With the rise of the coastal grandma aesthetic, it’s only a matter of time before Vera Bradley is embraced by a new generation, and I expect to see the print pop up more frequently as the year continues, in everything from clothing to decor.

Inside the Parisian home of Maryam Madhavi, for instance, paisley is one of many patterns on display in the cashmere-draped salon that channels a “bohemian luxe” vibe. The Iranian French stylist opted for hanging printed fabrics and wallcoverings as opposed to wallpaper to curate a space that screams maximalist couture.

The print may be on its way back into rotation, but its origins take us back even further into world history. In Paisley Patterns: A Design Source Book, Valerie Reilly describes paisley as “one of the most enduring motifs that man has ever devised,” having been in constant use for more than 2,000 years. The history of this beloved bohemian textile can be traced all the way back to ancient Persia, where the buta or boteh covered the interiors of royals to foster a sense of nobility. It quickly evolved as a symbol of luxury amongst the elite class with growing demand for Kashmir shawls. In Jewish culture, the cultural motif became synonymous with prestige and eternity. Paisley can be found in sacred texts all over the Middle East, from Iran and Afghanistan to Pakistan and India.

From there, the paisley print made its way to Europe, where manufacturers were keen to find a cheaper alternative to the production of imported fabrics during the 19th century. The Scottish town Paisley was at the forefront of this industrialization that would lead to undermining the market and exploiting it for all its worth. After adopting the pattern and designing it for industrial looms in Europe, they were then reexported back to India.

The paisley design has different meanings across cultures; some refer to it as a cypress tree while others view it as a pine cone, a mango, and a feather; the common thread is that it derives from a natural form. There is currently an exhibition titled “Paisley: A Princely Pattern” at the Museum for Islamic Art, in Jerusalem, and across the Atlantic, in New York City, “The Clamor of Ornament: Exchange, Power, and Joy from the Fifteenth Century to the Present” recently opened at the Drawing Center.

For this ambitious exhibition, Dr. Emily King curated 200 works (drawings, prints, textiles, photographs and other objects), using pieces like George Haité’s 1850s watercolor design for a shawl to specifically address the evolution of the paisley design motif. “It’s super interesting, because it’s really one of those patterns that traveled from its origins in the Mughal empire, northern India, and rising from the Islamic world,” she says. “Then that area became colonized and [paisley] became particularly popular amongst the colonizers and then trickled back.”

Dr. King is fascinated by paisley because it represents “fluidity of pattern.” She notes how there are some designs that are simply too loaded to wear because of the symbolism, but paisley has never really been formalized in its significance since it’s not associated with a specific cultural identity. “There’s something really glorious about that fluidity of culture, but also how uncomfortable that is when there are power imbalances,” she explains.

During the 1960s, paisley became the loud statement piece of hippies and revolutionaries ahead of the psychedelic movement. As someone who grew up in England at that time, which she views as the height of paisley, Dr. King is reminded that the print has an eternal shared past that transcends micro-generations. Far removed from its colonial roots as a kerchief, paisley was also embraced by creatives from the folk art community. Amongst the contemporary fabrics created by innovative designer Jay Yang, in the 1970s, paisley was paired with rich textures and vibrant colors like brown and red with medallion print for a more bohemian feel. In its most refined form, paisley appeared on bandanas worn by pop culture icons such as the late Jimi Hendrix, Prince, and the Beatles. From bikers and boy scouts to cowboys and rappers, the fashionable pattern was a uniform staple across demographics.

The floral printed legacy for which Laura Ashley is known spans almost 70 years—and paisley’s earliest appearance within the heritage brand’s massive catalogue can be traced back to dress prints in the 1950s. The company didn’t fully expand into the home furnishings category until the ’70s; there’s a publicity photo from 1972 that features a paisley printed tablecloth amongst a tented backdrop of patterned drapes, wallpaper, and beddings.

“Paisley patterns have a strong bearing on our brand’s DNA,” explains Helen Ashmore, Laura Ashley’s head of design. “The curving shapes and pod-style motifs that signify a paisley print bring a wonderful feeling of the exotic into any collection and in two-tone color combinations have timeless appeal in modern-day interiors. The design can be used in both minimalist and maximalist ways, which makes its appeal so vast.” According to Helen, “the brand started by using them as small-scale, single-color prints that worked alongside our floral ditsy prints that were so of that moment.”

When Vera Bradley was established in 1982, cofounders Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller were on a mission to bring into the world colorful handbags and luggage that made a bold statement. It wasn’t until the ’90s that the company started adding paisley onto its quilted cotton bags and eventually found its groove as budding millennials developed a newfound sense of preppy style that stood out from their Lilly Pulitzer–loving mothers. Soon enough, the signature print became the brand’s entire identity and was fully embraced by the middle and upper class. Even so, Vera Bradley was more attainable than most, with an $18 to $540 price range across categories.

If you go to my parents’ house in the suburbs of New Jersey, you’ll find a shelf of Bermuda pink bags—a retired pattern from Vera Bradley’s spring 2005 collection—at the top of the closet, in my childhood bedroom. I vividly remember the feeling of excitement that filled me up when my mom would take me to the local boutique that carried the brand so I could pick out a new accessory for my growing collection of (emotional) baggage. Before you call me out for unlocking these suppressed memories, know that I was a middle schooler coming of age at a time where everyone was sliding down this slippery slope.

For Abigail Quist, founder of the the independent clothing brand Arq, some of her fondest early memories feature a cameo of the print. They appeared in her grandpa’s smoking jacket with paisley silk lining and leather slippers, and a hand-stitched quilt that her grandma, Lena, made out of silk velvet and silk ties. This past May, it all came full circle when Arq introduced paisley to its collection of responsibly sewn, organic base layers. “You can always count on fashion being somewhat cyclical, but it’s fun to see what really takes hold within a broader resurgence,” Abigail explains in an email. “Paisley feels really good and luxe and fun right now in the context of intimates.”

What started out as a diamond foulard-type print based on some of Abigail’s favorite vintage and antique garments evolved into further exploring the paisley pattern. “I like that it can be both ornate or sweet and also masculine—or anywhere in between,” she says. “It holds both formal and 19th-century rural, rugged references at the same time. So, it naturally allows for expression within that free space.”

Estelle Bailey-Babenzien, founder of the interior architecture and experiential design studio Dream Awake and cofounder of Noah, views paisley as a “more sophisticated, fun version of a camo print.” She notes that it’s classic but universal, and goes with everything from polka dots and stripes to checks, tartans, and florals. “It can be quite serious and super classic and contemporary or it can even be a little bit punk rock,” Estelle says. “It’s just so malleable; you can use it in different ways and it can mean different things.”

Since launching Noah, in 2015, paisley has appeared in a number of collections on pants, shirts, outwear, beanies, and bandanas. Speaking about her husband, Brendon, and his design preferences, Estelle explains how he “loves classic things, but to apply them in a way that does still feel timeless, but a little bit more contemporary in terms of the shape or the application of it.” For example, in the past, the menswear brand has experimented with the weaving of paisley and floral prints. After seeing so much positive reception to the print amongst Noah’s customers, Estelle is currently thinking about how to bring paisley back into home interiors in a fresh way.

Dr. King remarks how “maximalism looks very good on a small screen,” so any print that feels bold and celebratory will generate a buzzy response on the internet. This is why Helen believes that “paisley patterns in bold, joyful colors, refreshed into modern colorways, are emerging as a key trend for 2023, for both fashion and home.” It’s a print that has so many resonances that naturally attract the eye; what keeps drawing Abigail in is the weirdness of it, which she compares to bacteria under a microscope. “If you are a person who doesn’t like tropes or to be pigeonholed, then you can see yourself and all your weird, wonderful complexity in something like a paisley,” she adds.

Of course, it’s understandable why some people strongly oppose paisley. Like many others, Estelle sees the benefit of continuing to shift paisley away from its waspy image. She adds, “Some people can be really turned off by that; it could represent a world that they don’t really appreciate or they feel like they’ve been excluded from.” For those that know about the print’s origins, Estelle also wonders how they feel about how it has changed over time.

There will always be a fashionable moment, but paisley is a print that never really goes out of style—even when it softly fades to the background, it’s still there in disguise. “I can’t think of an era when it would not have been somewhere current,” concludes Dr. King. “Patterns don’t really date.”

If the power of paisley compels you…