Art Meets Workwear

We recently invited eight artists and illustrators to use chore jackets as their canvas to create unique exciting pieces. 

The result: playful, wearable artwork.

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The workwear jacket dates back from the 19th century and has always been favoured by creators such as Van Gogh, Niki de Saint Phalle or Bill Cunningham. Here it is revisited through different techniques from spraying to embroidery.

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Jenni Allen, Becky Baur, Rana Begum, Stewart Easton, Paul Farrell , Sally Minns, Jayde Perkin and Ian Viggars have created a unique collection now available to purchase online. Free worldwide shipping for items in this series. 

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Wear it or frame it, it is your choice.

ARTISTS & THEIR APPROACH FOR THE CUSTOMISATION

Printmaker Jenni Allen works in the medium of screen print and uses bold and satisfying palettes, playing with hand-drawn pattern, geometry and found imagery and textures. She chose to complement the individual characteristics of the jackets by printing them with simple motifs and formulaic shapes, in both vivid and muted tones

Becky Baur’s background is in fine art, textile design and illustration, often with imagery for children. For the jackets she chose embroidery, using colourful imagery inspired by Mexican and nautical symbols, which contrast well with the French blues. For her, the heart represents love, healing and freedom, and the hand represents an embrace and affection.

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Rana Begum blurs the boundaries between sculpture, painting and architecture. Her visual language draws from the urban landscape as well as geometric patterns from traditional Islamic art and architecture. Begum has used spot and spray painting and techniques used in other parts of her work, to give a rich interaction of colour, form and texture. The painting comes alive when the jacket is worn as the fabric shifts with the body, manipulating the work and creating a sense of movement.

Breaking the traditional boundaries of craft, Stewart Francis Easton’s work fuses together hand embroidery, sonic art and music, drawing up on and using folk song, story and social history. Most recently, Easton has been exploring the connection between the process of hand embroidery, expansion of awareness and abstract forms into a body of hand-stitched works documenting a daily practice of stitching meditation. For the jackets, Easton has been inspired by military wear which was hand painted by soldiers. 

Inspired by a diet of 70s pop culture and the graphic arts, illustrator and graphic designer Paul Farrell’s bold, graphic style defines the everyday as imagery that is simple, colourful and playful. Farrell decided to utilise a common feature of the jackets and so labelling became his method of customisation, concentrating on four trades - florist, garage attendant, grocer and factory machine worker. The illustrations have been hand silk screen printed onto cotton labels.

The figure, form and movement are integral to Sally Minns’ work as a figurative painter. Using brushes, clay modelling tools and textile paints, she has created graphic patterns alongside abstract designs grounded by geometric shapes. She has created a wearable gallery, inspired by the vintage and individual nature of each jacket. 

Jayde Perkin is a freelance illustrator and comic book author based in Bristol. She responded to the pattern and textures of each garment using acrylic paint. Pockets were used playfully with things growing out of them. Mermaids appeared on a sailor’s smock, the shades of blue reminding her of the seaside or the night sky.

Artist and video editor Ian Viggars used acrylic paint and Posca pens, using stencils and masking tape to get shapes he wanted. He decided to focus on items you’d carry in the pockets of working jackets, such as tools, stationery or a Walkman.

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Photos by Daniel Halpin.