What is the impact of your fashion sense on your interior design style? It's no secret that clothing and home trends are always in conversation with one another, and even more so with the increased influence of social media. For instance, as maximalism has proliferated across the runways, it has grown equally popular in the interior space.
In the fashion world, Rachel Antonoff is synonymous with the maximalist style. The designer's eponymous label is home to dopamine-drenched garments, often featuring food. The looks range from seafood tower sweaters to a butter tank top and the farfalle puffer jacket that was widely regarded as the New York City 'It' Coat of 2023. Given the inextricable relationship between the industries, Homes & Gardens spoke with Antonoff to understand how she recommends applying the same joyful ethos to interior design as she does to getting dressed.
Though she's an enthusiast of all patterns, decorating with toile is Antonoff's favorite way to bring print into a room. She tells H&G: 'I have always loved toile. I've always loved interior design in general. Obviously, I'm pretty into prints. We're not a company that leans into solids very much, and I love a conversation print. My favorite kind of conversation print is one where there's an element of discovery and a version of storytelling. Nothing is more story-specific than a great toile.'
Part of what is so intriguing about a toile is its nostalgia. She continues, 'I have memories of being a child and being really bored at a grown-up dinner party and just studying someone's wallpaper or someone's upholstery and making up little stories with the people and characters. I've just always loved toile for that reason.' Further, toile goes beyond interior design trends for the fashion designer. She states: 'I do think they're timeless.'
How does she recommend integrating this classic yet modern French decor idea? Mainly, don't hold back. 'I'm of the "more is more mindset" and I really love a print on print on print situation,' says Antonoff. 'Nothing makes me happier than different toiles in the same room or even in the same upholstery scheme. Nothing is cooler than a red toile, a blue toile, a gold toile sort of all on top of each other.'
She continues, 'It's almost like they're like the snowflakes of prints in that each one is so unique, even though they all have that sort of unifying look. There are just so many different toile layouts and formats. I think toile can be used anywhere and everywhere.'
This holiday season, Antonoff is using toile unconventionally: as holiday decor in her kitchen. She partnered with Pepperidge Farm to design the cutest cookie jars we've ever seen, in four distinct patterns. The limited edition Rachel Antonoff x Pepperidge Farm holiday cookie jar collection is available from Tuesday November 19th through Friday, November 22. It's easy to imagine how the vibrant vessels would fit into her colorful kitchen.
Toile cookie jars are Antonoff's secret weapon for leveling up her holiday hosting. She tells us: 'I think something small, like a cookie jar, is this visual tangible source of comfort. It houses something special, something cozy, something even different and changing depending on the time of year. I think that a cookie jar can be the main attraction of a kitchen, and such a low-lift design, but something that people will always remember.'
Shop H&G's Toile Picks
In case you aren't able to snap up a cookie jar in time, here are our editors' top picks for integrating toile into your home.
Add a French country style to your living room with this cotton reversible throw blanket: The front pattern looks like a scene from an old village, while the reverse features a fun stripe and dot pattern.
When it comes to patterns in dressing and interiors, more is always more – we're taking Rachel Antonoff's word for it.
