About the Armani project

Armani's design team contacted me to ask if I could rough out some designs for T-shirts for a new capsule collection they were working on. Sadly the project didn't fly, as they ultimately selected a different artist to work with, but it was great to be asked, and really enjoyable to revisit some of the work with fresh eyes and a fashion design focus.

There's an interesting cross over between art, craft, design and textiles, that often throws up some really interesting hybrid work. I was particularly impressed by a recent Sonia Delaunay show at Tate Modern, which displayed her stunning fabric designs alongside her sublime colour abstractions, so on balance, I felt it was worthwhile to include these sketches here, albeit with some concern that they will rightly be viewed as design work, not fine art.

That distinction is an interesting one which has created many hours of lively debate over the years. My own feeling, at a very simplistic level, is that design work tends to require a client, who may have some creative control, whilst fine artists tend to reject the idea of external control in favour of creative autonomy and self expression.

It's more complex than that of course, but maybe it's a good jumping off point to explore the relationship between commissioned art, product design, textiles, and creativity. There's a lot to be learnt from the Glasgow School of Art's original purpose, as it was set up to help local industries prosper on the international stage, by seeking out new and creative ways to combine art and other disciplines like engineering and architecture.

In many ways that maker movement, and Arts and Crafts idealism, remains very relevant today.