I have to confess that you’d be hard-pressed to find a fringe, pom-pom, or tassel anywhere in my house. Had someone mentioned passementerie to me a few weeks ago, my mind would most likely wander to the kind of maximalist, grandmillennial-esque interiors that are, quite frankly, just not my thing. That’s before I noticed that the not-so-humble tassel has been making an appearance in the most unexpected places of late; namely minimalist and contemporary spaces, where interior designers are embracing a restrained take on this decorative flourish.
While fabric trims and embellishments don’t feature heavily in my own home, I have huge respect for the art of passementerie: a heritage craft that can be traced back to the ancient Egyptians. “It’s a magical, secret world, now mostly sadly lost,” says London’s last passementerie weaver, Jessica Light, who has been making intricate tassels and trims by hand for over 30 years.
Renowned for her beautifully crafted, boldly modern pieces that play with color, scale, and form, Jessica was the perfect person to ask about how designers are revitalizing passementerie elements in contemporary interior trends. “Passementerie has always ebbed and flowed according to the contemporary tastes of the time," she explains. "Modernism nearly finished it off, but there are so many techniques and ways to implement it that designers and makers can always find new ways to make it desirable and visually relevant.”
Jessica advocates the use of a single, overtly decorative piece of passementerie in an otherwise sparse space. Plus, she currently favors odd tiebacks and trims that don't necessarily blend into a scheme. “I like the idea of an ice-blue trim in an interior that is mostly earthy ochres, browns, and brick-reds, for example; or a combination of different colors of the same tieback style at the curtains,” she shares.
She also says she's getting a lot of bespoke commissions for "single statement" tassels at the moment. “These can serve as hanging sculptures, creating a focal point in the room, offering drama, color, and texture,” explains Jessica, who works in a range of mediums, including linen, wool, horsehair, and paper. She also uses deadstock materials from her atelier wherever possible.
"Tassels can be highly decorative, or you can add in a pared-back design in a single color, which is just as dramatic," she adds. "They're almost like an exclamation mark: a piece of passementerie punctuation in your space."
Marisa Gutmacher, the senior vice president of design at Samuel & Sons, also favors experimenting with bold color pairings to make tassels feel more contemporary. "I like a design that brings an unexpected hue to a patterned cloth, perhaps one that picks up a shade that appears only briefly in the design and gives it greater presence," she says. "With a plain fabric, a close tonal pairing can be equally interesting, particularly when the trim has a different luster level or texture."
How to Embellish Your Home with Tassels
Even the simplest designs can become a focal point in a space that allows it to breathe. When Gemma Moulton of East London Cloth enlisted Jessica's expertise for a tightly curated selection of passementerie elements, designed to complement her textile collections, she chose monochrome silk tassels to embellish tiebacks, light pulls, and keys. British interiors studio Penrose Tilbury used one of these minimal tiebacks in the bathroom of a recent project (pictured above).
"This Victorian townhouse was transformed to reflect the client’s brief for a sophisticated and classic interior with subtle Parisian flair," say studio founders Charlotte Tilbury and Rose Hanson, whose aim was to create a space with a sense of individuality and elegance.
Further cementing tassel's rightful place within modern interiors, top designers around the world have been lending various clean-lined designs a touch of whimsy in the form of statement tassels, both striking and subtle.
Back in 2021, French designers Hauvette & Madani launched the Betty Lamp, a design that grew from an encounter with the 270-year-old Passementerie Verrier in Paris. The duo harnessed the skills of Verrier’s artisans again in 2026 with their La 23ème Heur furniture collection, which features a lounge chair in birch and lacquer, with a bolster held in place by passementerie cords finished with two substantial tassels.
Craftsmanship was also the inspiration for Workstead’s Lantern collection, released last year. Handmade from raw dupioni silk by a third-generation family workshop in the American South, each pendant and sconce is finished with a single handwoven tassel that adds a playful gesture to its geometric forms.
Passementerie and tassels also popped up in the work of Milan-based architect and designer Giuseppe Porcelli, whose recent collection includes a sleek lacquer console table and octagonal wall mirror, both adorned with slender silk tassels.
Shop the Trend
This ochre velvet cushion is made in the UK and features patterns inspired by the interiors of Soho House in Barcelona. The fluid motifs are complemented by two rows of tassels in a matching hue. Add into a mix of printed textiles or use as an accent piece among plain cushions or upholstery.
Part of Jessica Light's new collection for Harrods, this handcrafted beaded tassel decoration is in no way just for Christmas. With a design that takes inspiration from the decor of Regency Courts, it's perfect for adding a touch of ornamentation at any time of year. Hang from a curtain tie, door handle, or anywhere where its pearlescent beads and glacial-blue tassels will catch the eye.
If rustic and natural interiors are more your thing, then this Kavi pendant light might fit the bill with its raffia construction and two tiers of fringing. At 86cm in diameter, it will serve as an impressive focal point in a living room or above a large dining table. Just be sure to choose a warm, low-lumen bulb to avoid overhead glare.
Featuring a tactile woven design with delicate beaded embellishments and a single tassel, these tasseled napkin rings will add just the right amount of old-world glamour to your table without feeling over the top.
This wooden oval wall mirror is suspended from a simple off-white cord, which is finished on either side with two simple tassels. It's a delicate design gesture that lends this otherwise unfussy piece a quirky vintage feel. Use to give a hallway or bathroom a subtle touch of character.
For those who take no issue with grandmillennial style, a tasseled footstool might be just what's missing from your bedroom or living space. This one features velvet upholstery in a steel-blue shade, with a fringe that complements rather than contrasts for a more streamlined look.
If all this talk of tassels has you inspired, there are ways to go even bigger and better: fringed furniture has been making its comeback in a big way of late, even in the most contemporary of homes.
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