True Blue
A comprehensive new exhibition in Paris draws together the best of the art of indigo-dyeing—from across the artisanal world
Indigo has long been renowned as the king of dyes. Grown from India to Africa to the American colonies, the sale of indigo was so important that it propped up governments, including our own: Benjamin Franklin sailed with it to France, where the proceeds supported our own revolution. (Later, indigo would supply the blue of our earliest flags.) Centuries of craft, art, and history—all with indigo at its center—are now on view at the Bibliothèque Forney in Paris, through April 18. Curated by stylist and fashion designer Catherine Legrand, “Indigo” gathers 300 objects—clothing and homewares alike—from around the world. What Legrand stresses is not, in fact, their differences, however obvious the discord might be between indigo-dyed American jeans and a loin cloth made by the Dogon people of Mali. In fact, it is their similarities that stand out—reminding us that whatever our differences, we are remain linked by color, and its cultivation.
Bibliothèque Forney, 1 rue du Figuier, Paris 4e
