Souleiado: A Ray of Sunlight in Print
The roots of these patterns stretch far beyond Provence. Ochre, faded indigo, dusty saffron, star-shaped flowers printed in steady repeats, Portuguese ships brought the first brilliantly dyed cottons from India into Europe In the 16th century, The name itself means “a break in the clouds where the sun shines through,” and that image fits, not only the palette but the spirit, cloth that shimmered with carmine reds, deep indigos and floral repeats unlike anything woven at home. These textiles, known as indiennes, captivated the continent. By the 17th century, they were arriving at the port of Marseille and spreading inland, especially across the sunlit towns of the south.
Light, washable, vivid, they quickly found their way into Provençal wardrobes. Though their import was later banned to protect local industries, the love of pattern had already taken hold. Workshops began printing their own versions, blending Indian rhythm with regional symbolism: olives, stars, pomegranates, small clustered blooms. These weren’t just imitations, they were acts of translation.
By the 18th century, Tarascon had become a centre of fabric production. And in the 19th and 20th centuries, Souleiado would rise from this same soil, not as a newcomer but as a continuation. Under the care of Charles Demery, the company revived these traditional prints using original blocks, ancient techniques, and a deep respect for the quiet story of cloth.
Under the care of Charles Demery, the company revived these traditional prints using original blocks, ancient techniques, and a deep respect for the quiet story of cloth. While Charles Demery worked to preserve the history of Provençal textile printing, it was his wife, Yvette Demery, who helped give Souleiado its distinct visual poetry. A designer and stylist in her own right, she curated collections that blended historical motifs with a modern, wearable elegance. In the 1950s and '60s, Yvette developed garment lines using Souleiado prints that celebrated Provençal heritage while feeling entirely contemporary, flowing skirts, blouses, and dresses that brought traditional patterns into everyday life. Her vision helped establish Souleiado not just as a fabric maker, but as a lifestyle brand rooted in memory, sunshine and movement. Many of the silhouettes she shaped became iconic, and her influence can still be felt in Souleiado’s collections today.
And the mood? Always sunlit Souleiado prints became known for their antidote-like joy , a brightness that felt almost medicinal. Sunshine yellows, lavender blues, olive greens. Each shade drawn not from trend, but from terroir. The land itself.
Look closely and you'll find stylised poppies, cicadas, olive branches, even calissons, those almond-shaped sweets of Provence, nestled into the repeat. These were more than decorative. They were cultural shorthand, regional memory rendered in cloth.
To wear them was to carry a little of the south, its warmth, its rhythm, its unabashed colour, whether wrapped as a scarf, stitched into a skirt, or pinned up behind a child’s bed.
When I unroll a bolt of vintage Souleiado, I see all of it, the Indian ports, the Portuguese ships, the French fields, the women who wore them, the homes that softened them over time.
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Prefer to listen? This audio version of our Fabric Stories feature offers a short narrated journey into the legacy of Souleiado.