Cover Explore the Wild collection by Bill Bensley for Jim Thompson, inspired by the Cardamom Mountains and supporting conservation through the Shinta Mani Foundation
Explore the Wild collection by Bill Bensley for Jim Thompson, inspired by the Cardamom Mountains and supporting conservation through the Shinta Mani Foundation
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After its debut in Paris, the Wild collection by Bill Bensley for Jim Thompson continues its global rollout—bringing rainforest narratives, endangered wildlife and conservation advocacy into contemporary interiors.
When Bill Bensley paints, he builds ecosystems. With Wild, his collaboration with Jim Thompson, those ecosystems move from canvas to cloth.
First unveiled in Paris earlier this year, the collection now enters showrooms and projects worldwide. Its point of departure is the Cardamom Mountains—one of Southeast Asia’s last major unfragmented rainforests—rendered through Bensley’s paintings of hornbills, pangolins, dholes and the near-mythic kouprey.
During the pandemic, Bensley turned inward, producing a prolific series of works centred on the region’s flora and fauna. Jim Thompson’s textile studio translated these artworks into upholstery, drapery and performance fabrics that retain their narrative sweep while meeting the technical demands of contemporary interiors.
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Above Renowned architect, interior designer, creative visionary and “the wild child of luxury hospitality”, Bill Bensley
Renowned architect, interior designer, creative visionary and “the wild child of luxury hospitality”, Bill Bensley
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Wearing a narrative of the Cardamom Mountains
Above Cardamom Cactus in the bathroom
Above Cardamom Cactus outside, on the veranda
Cardamom Cactus in the bathroom
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The collection reads as a sequence of chapters. Wild Winds captures birds in motion across a mountainous panorama, conceived as linen-cotton drapery panels. Wild Vines of the Cardamom, first acquired swiftly at Bensley’s 2024 art auction, becomes a jacquard layered with contrasting textures that echo forest canopies.
Above The Kouprey
The Kouprey
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Above Kouprey Velvet
Above Wild Vines of the Cardamom in the bathroom
Kouprey Velvet
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Animal motifs anchor several key designs. Kouprey Velvet and The Kouprey reference Cambodia’s national animal in loop-cut velvet and detailed upholstery. Wild Binturongs & Dholes introduces a dense jacquard populated with lesser-known rainforest species, while Wild Pangolin uses a chunky weave to echo the creature’s scaled armour.
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Above Wild Clouded Leopard
Above The Great Hornbills
Wild Clouded Leopard
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Other patterns, namely Wild Clouded Leopards, The Great Hornbills and Wildlife of the Rainforest, read as large-scale statements suited to feature walls, drapery or statement seating. For hospitality and outdoor settings, Wild Wild Weaves offers inherent fire-retardant properties and high abrasion resistance, extending the collection beyond decorative application into contract performance.
Design honouring conservation and consequence
Above Wild Binturongs and Dholes
Above Wild Vines of the Cardamom
Wild Binturongs and Dholes
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The Cardamom Mountains span southern Cambodia and edge Thailand, playing a critical role in regulating regional climate patterns. They are also increasingly vulnerable. A portion of proceeds from Wild supports conservation initiatives through the Shinta Mani Foundation, which works to protect the rainforest and support local communities.
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Above The Cardamom Grove out on the veranda
Above The Forest Vow
The Cardamom Grove out on the veranda
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For Jim Thompson, established in 1951 and long associated with advancing Thai silk on the global stage, the collaboration reinforces its commitment to narrative textiles. For Bill Bensley, whose Bangkok- and Bali-based atelier has delivered more than 200 hotels and resorts worldwide, it marks a further convergence of design and advocacy.
Above Wild Complexions
Above Wildlife of the Rainforest
Wild Complexions
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The collection does not romanticise the jungle. Instead, it frames the rainforest as subject, resource and responsibility. In doing so, Bill Bensley and Jim Thompson offer more than a decorative statement—they present a material argument for preservation, woven thread by thread.
Credits
Images: Courtesy of the brand
Based in Singapore, Engracia Ang is an experienced writer specialising in home and living content.
