TWO men of the cloth passed through Hong Kong recently. One was wearing it; the other, talking about it. Jack Lenor Larsen and Manuel Canovas have earned international reputations as fabric designers in very different ways.
Larsen criss-crossed the villages of the world, a weaver who believed the link to cultures was in their cloth. By sharing looms, things became clearer.
Canovas, the son of a Spanish Castilian artist, was born in Paris. As a student of art and architecture, he sought inspiration from the past - art history and archaeology. Old documents and Chinese porcelain supplied inspiration for several of his lines.
So did travelling. India taught him about colour and Japan challenged his mind with graphics and refined geometrics.
His characteristic floral prints that grace palaces in Europe and presidential homes can be traced to the botany assignments of the then 12-year-old.
In broadening his scope in the mid-60s, he added those prints to swim-wear and beach accessories. His touch eventually reached related fields - wallpaper, tableware and home fragrances.