A brown-and-white or blue-and-white toile would not be enough color for her; she’d want more,” recalls the designer. “It was ...

The background color is inspired by International Klein Blue, a hue that the artist Yves Klein first mixed in the 1950s, using it to make an array of monochromatic paintings until his death in 1962.

Using wood blocks, the printing process was highly labor intensive, making toile a luxury only the aristocracy could afford. Each color of dye required a separate bath, and as many as 20 colors ...