After months of hard work,
our latest collection has finally hit the shops! We are excited to bring
you 'Patterned Landscapes' Inspired by the textures of Mali.
When deciding on a new
place of inspiration for this collection, Imogen had initially thought Tahiti
would be a great country to be inspired by, being warm and exotic, with a
French connection that would follow on nicely from our Parisian Deco:Deco collection. But as we also had a strong African aesthetic running through the Parisian
collection, somewhere in Africa seemed like a natural progression, and also an aesthetic flavour that seemed
relevant currently.
The question was: where to
go in Africa? After much discussion, we
settled on Mali.
Mali is a landlocked
country in North West Africa. Its northern borders reach far into the vast
Saharan desert, a feature that really defines the country and its people.
Mali has a particularly rich history and fascinating culture, including a strong music tradition (apparently the Blues originated
here), and some fantastic traditional
art and craft for us to be inspired by – not to mention the astounding natural
environment and mud brick architecture!
Today, Mali is a country
plagued by political and social unrest, however in better times Mali was an
oasis of learning, trade and culture – and so we looked back to these times to
inspire us.
In approaching this theme, we didn’t want to exactly
replicate an African aesthetic – they do that so beautifully themselves. We
made the collection our own by reinterpreting traditional Malian printing
techniques, visual imagery and cultural traditions in a contemporary way,
simplifying shapes and modernising the colour palette.
Patterned Landscapes is a brave mix of big bold abstract patterns and
block colours, offset by little delicate patterns, organic textures and dusty
muted colours – perfect for the warmer months.
Roll on summer!
Roll on summer!
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