Raas and Lila

Raas and Lila are fabrics designed by Doshi Levien for Kvadrat, resulting from an intense exploration into the making of colour. Rather than selecting shades from existing charts, Doshi Levien mixed over 100 gouache colours by hand in the studio. These were applied onto paper samples that mimicked the construction of the textiles. Because many of the tones did not exist within standard colour systems, the mill used these hand-painted samples directly to dye the wool yarn with precision.

The inspiration for the textiles’ colour world drew from Royal Indian miniature paintings from Jodhpur, glazed Chinese ceramics, Sèvres porcelain, modernist painting, and vintage fabrics by Cristóbal Balenciaga, Lanvin and Chanel. There is a play of aesthetics between ancient and modern references, vivid and faded tones, and colours layered like textured glazes. Memories of colour on architecture also shaped the palette.

Lila, woven with a slub yarn, has the cool, relaxed feel of linen and a bold texture that allows close tonal mixes, as well as mid-tone contrasts. Raas has a more precise weave, while retaining the slight irregularity of a hand-spun yarn. The names come from Hindi: Lila meaning “play” or “dance”, and Raas referring to “aesthetics” and “feelings”.