Enter a space kitted out with Susan Unger's floating panels, pillows or duvet covers and you'll want to sit back, relax, perhaps even meditate. The depth of feelings generated by her work may be attributable to the complexity of the artist, who has an uncanny ability to fuse Zen-like minimalism with Byzantine splendor.

Unger's textiles capture the feelings one has when actively enjoying and participating in nature. Subtle metallic inks pick up light, much as rays of sun play off a blade of grass or a ripple in a pond. Being immersed in Unger's wares may give you the sensation of peeking through a palm frond on a hike in Nu'uanu Valley, lying under an olive tree as the light plays through the gray-green leaves or watching the wings of a dragonfly shimmer in the sun.

Although her work has a distinctly Island feel, the designer has never been to Hawai'i. That will change tomorrow as she makes her first appearance at Fine Linens and Furnishings in Kaka'ako. The shop features an exclusive collection of Unger's home interior textiles, and with this appearance, Unger will show a selection of her latest clothing line.

Unger didn't start out as an artist. After earning her degree in philosophy at Vermont's Bennington College, she traveled to Spain, wintering at a friend's house on Menorca. She wound up staying in Spain for 23 years and still maintains a home there.

The island of Menorca, like Hawai'i, has a varied landscape, from lush forests to desert moonscapes. She found the landscape inspiring, and before long, she was creating her own art.

FASHION AS INSPIRATION

Unger actually got her start in fashion with a line of artisan couture. In 1978, she introduced her first collection in a Madrid boutique, and Queen Sofia of Spain bought four of her blouses. After the queen appeared in Hola magazine wearing an Unger original, the clothing line took off. Unger dressed pop singers, presented runway shows and became part of the Movida de Madrid crowd of artists and actors including film director Pedro Almodóvar.

In 1988 she opened a boutique in Madrid's trendy Mercado Puerto de Toledo shopping district. Although she loved the creative energy of Madrid and Barcelona, Unger maintained her roots on Menorca, where the isolation and serenity enriched her work. She renovated a rambling, centuries-old farmhouse with four-foot-thick stone walls and turned the barn into her workshop. There she trained a group of local women in her silk-screening technique.

In the early 1990s, she teamed up with choreographer Nacho Duato to design costumes for his ballet "Duende." The project thrilled her, she said, because "It felt like the Ballet Russe of old. The ethereal combination of movement, light, color and fabric was seductive." She also collaborated with El Comediants, a Barcelona theater group, on the opening ceremonies for the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Her clothing was picked up by Barneys and Charivari in New York when she was discovered by Donna Karan, who offered to finance a studio for her and talked her into moving to Manhattan in 1994.

'PRISONER IN PARADISE'

Why leave sunny Spain for the bustle of uber-urban Manhattan? Having lived on an island for 23 years, Unger saw herself as what she calls a "prisoner in paradise."

"It's like you're in this island life and you think 'Oh, OK, one more sunset.' You get attached to the landscape, and I needed more stimulation. It started to feel like a small society, and I wanted a change, so I went to the complete opposite," she said. In addition, her daughter, then in high school, was a teenager at the time and had never lived in the United States.

Soon Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue featured Unger's clothing. She was discovered by celebrities such as Uma Thurman, Glenn Close, Carly Simon and Diane Sawyer.

While Unger has focused on interior textiles in recent years, she is now also designing clothing again.

"Fashion is an impulse. I love the ephemeral quality and spontaneity of it — a woman sees a piece of clothing she likes and she'll just buy it. With a pillow, she has to take it home and try it and ask her husband and her interior decorator, and there's so much decision involved."

Starting next month, Origins stores across the country will carry Unger-designed sarongs.

"They are made of wild silk harvested from cocoons that silk worms leave behind. There are no silk worms killed in the process, so the silk is animal friendly," she explained.

Her current clothing collection is called Remnants of Memory, jackets created from a collage of Unger's fabrics, some of which she is bringing to Honolulu tomorrow.

CHARLOTTE'S BED

Remember that episode of "Sex and the City" in which Charlotte, played by Kristin Davis, goes shopping for bedroom furnishings to replace husband Tre's preppy plaid monstrosities? Charlotte, Tre and Bunny (the mother-in-law from hell) visit Manhattan's ABC Carpet and Home, where they cavort upon a bed in a most unseemly manner for such uptight uptowners.

The bed, bedding, headboard and pillows they select for the elegant Upper East Side apartment were created by Susan Unger. The series' staff liked the look so much that they kept it for four seasons.

Among other high-profile appearances of Unger's textiles are the velvet draperies in the lobby of Manhattan's Swissôtel The Drake and her floating organza panels in the Golden Door Spa in San Diego.

Pat Delara of Makakilo is a fan of Unger's work. As a former interior designer in New York, Delara appreciates Unger's "unusual layered effects — they are so different and beautiful." Delara uses Unger's dragonfly motif organza panels to visually "divide" the spaces in her rooms. She employs the designer's pillows and duvet covers in her bedroom, living room and family room to create a restful environment.

Marti Hazzard of Hawai'i Kai, a real-estate agent with Coldwell Banker, created an East Asian room and a Japanese room for her Hawai'i Loa Ridge house before she put it up for sale. She used Unger's green silk duvet cover, pillows and bolsters in the East Asian room. In the Japanese room, she layered browns and reds for a dramatic effect. "It's art, and it's so perfect for Hawai'i," Hazzard said. She is now purchasing more Unger materials for her new home.

Unger's latest foray into interiors is a 72-piece collection of wallpapers. The prints include Zen-like botanical forms as well as ornate, antique patterns inspired by the fabrics of Mariano Fortuny, the iconic Italian textile designer.

Her hope is that designers will pair different prints within the same color stories to create richly atmospheric environments that will work with either modern or traditional furnishings.

Unger's environments speak to the expression "ka lumi nanea," a place for reposing. I'm betting that a new collection will be in the wings once this lover of nature experiences the beauty of Hawai'i.

Reach Paula Rath at prath@honoluluadvertiser.com.