NEW YORK, NY — September 22, 2026 — F. Schumacher & Co. (FS&CO), the storied American design house founded by Frederic Schumacher in 1889, is proud to announce the acquisition of the vast majority of the Vanoutryve archive. A renowned mill active in France and Belgium for more than 150 years, Vanoutryve not only was critical to the development of the European textile industry during the 19th and 20th centuries, but also had a direct connection to Frederic Schumacher, a Frenchman who worked as a textile agent for Vanoutryve in both France and the United States before launching his namesake company in New York City.
This impressive acquisition includes more than 75,000 textile samples along with original fabrics and drawings dating from approximately 1870 to 1960, substantially expanding FS&CO’s archival holdings and deepening its rich connection to French textile history.
Founded in Roubaix, France, in 1860 by Felix Vanoutryve, the mill quickly became one of Europe’s most important luxury textile weavers, at one time employing more than 4,500 workers and exporting as much as 60 percent of its production abroad. During the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, Vanoutryve’s textiles introduced the emerging French design motifs to the masses, and the mill also worked with some of the era’s leading style arbiters, including Paul Poiret, who was the first fashion designer to establish a lifestyle brand producing fabrics for the home. After Felix Vanoutryve’s death in 1912—the same year that Frederic Schumacher died—the mill remained family-owned until 2013 and eventually closed in 2019. Parrots Moderne, a fabric originally woven at Vanoutryve, is still in production at Schumacher today.
“Acquiring archival pieces directly connected to our company’s founder is a natural extension of our brand heritage,” says FS&CO President and CEO Timur Yumusaklar. “We have always and will always continue to work with the finest mills in the world, and we firmly believe that quality craftsmanship and great design can withstand the test of time. I’m honored to continue preserving and reimagining the artistry of these timeless pieces by introducing them to the U.S., just as Frederic Schumacher did 150 years ago.”
“When I first started going through the Vanoutryve archive in Europe,” recounts Dara Caponigro, the company’s Chief Creative Officer, “what struck me most was the mix of patterns that were produced within a specific time period, which reflected the broad range of aesthetics and varied appetite for design during that era, with modernist Art Deco designs existing right alongside traditional brocades.”
The collection—which spans everything from classic Persian motifs and traditional European florals to early-20th-century French designs and more—comprises fine silks and brocades alongside heavier, more deeply textured fabrics like tapestries and jacquards. More than 1,500 swatch books, along with assorted textiles and drawings, now reside in a climate-controlled facility where they are being conserved and catalogued. Schumacher’s in-house archival staff is leading the effort to document the collection for the long term, ensuring that this critical chapter of design history remains intact.
“Our company’s founder, Frederic Schumacher, began his textile journey at Vanoutryve,” says Kristen Robinson, FS&CO’s archivist, “and this acquisition adds not only to our understanding of Schumacher’s own story, but also to the history of manufacturing and textile design. For more than a century, Vanoutryve was one of the most revered weaving houses in France and Belgium, and now its impact will still be felt in homes around the world.”
As FS&CO continues to grow and expand on its role as an industry leader, Caponigro adds, “This important lesson in the decorative arts will provide inspiration and education for our internal teams, students, and interior designers around the world for many generations to come.”
Posted: September 28, 2026
Source: F. Schumacher & Co. (FS&CO)
