British textile printing has received an unexpected publicity boost thanks to BBC’s popular series Killing Eve.
Images of lead actress Jodie Comer dressed in ill-fitting pop-art pyjamas have taken the press and social media by storm, with fans demanding to know where they could get their own pair. The answer is that the custom made outfit was produced by Friedmans, an Altrincham-based design studio and fabric printer.
The initial order came from Killing Eve’s production company, Sid Gentle Films, via an enquiry on Friedman’s Funkifabrics website. The product was then produced on one of the company’s nine Mimaki textile printers, with the print transferred using a rotary heat press onto a polyester-lycra blend fabric. This was then sent on to the client where it was cut and sewn into Comer’s unique outfit.
Design manager Nick Thomas was taken aback by the attention the company has since received. ‘It was as much a surprise to us that our design ended up in the limelight,’ he said. ‘The fabric was ordered through our web-to-print portal and it only really came to our attention when we saw the interest on social media after the first episode had aired.
‘We were delighted to see the print receive such a positive reaction, especially as the show is so synonymous with great costume design. The pyjama fabric is a perfect example of what can be achieved when great vision and design come together – it’s tremendously satisfying to see such an impactful end result.’
