DESIGN THAT GIVES BACK

Zebras hold a special place in our hearts at The House of Scalamandré. What started in 1945 as wallcovering in a beloved Manhattan restaurant has now become our most iconic motif, synonymous with the brand itself. And it is through our love for this majestic, striped animal that we discovered the dwindling of the Grevy’s zebra. Also referred to as the Imperial zebra, Grevy’s Zebra is the largest living wild equid, and the most threatened of its species.

The House of Scalamandré is proud to partner with Grevy’s Zebra Trust (GZT), an independent wildlife conservation trust, to help raise awareness for this urgent cause. In support of their efforts to conserve Grevy’s zebra in the community rangelands of Kenya and Ethoipia, we are pleased to donate a portion of all Scalamandré Zebras sales to GZT.

GZT is the only organization worldwide with a mission focused solely on conserving the endangered Grevy’s zebra. Recognizing that the survival of the Grevy’s zebra depends on its ability to coexist with people living in northern Kenya, GZT believes these communities must be at the center of designing and driving conservation efforts. GZT is a close-knit team, based in the Northern Kenyan regions of Wamba, El Barta and Laisamis. Here, they employ more than 80 local people who work together to address the threats facing Grevy’s zebra. GZT therefore works in partnership with communities from monitoring Grevy’s zebra through citizen science, to co-designing site-specific and tailored solutions to threats facing the species. In all of its work, GZT seeks ways to use data and information to inform decisions and solution for positive conservation outcomes. For more information on Grevy’s Zebra Trust, visit grevyszebratrust.org.

We also encourage those in the design world to help us give a voice to this urgent cause. Donate to GZT.

The Story of How Scalamandré’s Prancing Zebras Earned Their Stripes

Our legendary striped zebra print reached star status decades ago, and it all began within the walls of an Upper East Side restaurant in Manhattan. In 1945, Gino Circiello, the owner of renowned Italian eatery Gino of Capri (known to its A-List regulars as Gino’s) dreamt of safari adventures but lacked the money for travel, so instead he dreamt up a hunt scene to wrap the walls of his restaurant, and enlisted his friend Valentino Crescenzi to draw it for him. The result: a playful yet striking depiction of zebras and arrows set against splashy red that quickly became synonymous with the restaurant itself.




Owners of "Gino of Capri" circa 1955 with the original Zebras wallpaper. Gino Circiello second from left and Guy Aventuriero far right. The two partners, Circiello and Aventuriero, financed the restaurant, along with help from Franco Scalamandré.



Images: "The Missing Ingredient"




Gino’s was famed for hosting celebrity guests from Jackie Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe to Frank Sinatra and Ed Sullivan, but they were equally famed for their signature zebras. So when a fire ravaged the restaurant in 1973, recreating the sauce red, animal-clad walls was just as important as being able to serve spaghetti again.

Franco & Flora Scalamandré

And this time, Gino called on his friend Franco Scalamandré for the job. Franco’s wife Flora Baranzelli Scalamandré crafted her own copy of the original, and so began Scalamandré’s spin on the dashing print.

The Missing Stripe

When Flora’s version was printed, a stripe on the baby zebra had gone missing, but no one minded, as it added an extra dash of whimsy to the design. Scalamandré began stocking screens at their New Jersey mill shortly thereafter, and little did they know, zebras staying power would prove bigger than ever.

Daniel Krieger's - "Looking in on the action"
Print available for purchase

EXPANDING THE DAZZLE

During in the 2000s, the pattern had expanded to offer new colorations for the wall, speciality versions on grasscloth, as well as residential and outdoor fabric options.




The iconic wallcovering is printed by hand in the USA.