SARASOTA MODERN: INSPIRATION FOR OUR SPRING 2019 COLLECTION

Whenever my team and I design a new collection, we start by letting our customers tell us how they want to dress and what they need for all the various facets of their life. From there, we often take inspiration from one of our many J. McLaughlin locations to create a fresh color palette, exclusive new patterns and a vivid sense of place.

For our spring 2019 collection, Sarasota, with its lush tropical landscape, incredible light and stunning, mid-century modern architecture just felt right. Situated on the Gulf Coast of Florida, Sarasota is a town on the move and one of my family’s favorite destinations. A former artists’ colony, Sarasota is the birthplace of the Sarasota School of Architecture and home to the Ringling Museum, so there’s a deep well of creativity that bubbles up from the bayous, infusing the community with wonderful energy.

Whenever we visit Sarasota, we love touring The Cocoon House, The Umbrella House, the Revere Quality House and other landmark mid-century modern homes with the Sarasota Architectural Foundation. Also on our list of Sarasota must-sees are the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens and Pansy Bayou, a beautiful Gulf Coast lifestyle store and design studio owned by our friend Ellen Hanson, an interior designer with an extraordinary taste level.

Through Ellen and her husband Richard, we became friends with Sarasota artist John Pirman. A gifted graphic designer who’s designed many of our signature prints and patterns, John is a true modernist for the way he always delivers an exact mood without over-embellishing the details.

In addition to providing boundless creative inspiration, Sarasota also became a stunning backdrop for our new spring collection of sophisticated silhouettes, bright colors and geometric prints. We hope you enjoy reading the new catalog as much as we enjoyed creating it!