Ella Ritchie on Intoart’s first major fashion collaboration

Three artists from the inclusive South London art and design collective have created designs for the soon-to-launch collection: Ntiense Eno Amooquaye, Yoshiko Phillips and Andre Williams. The collection, which launches on 15 November, includes unisex jumpers, wooden dresses, a scarf and a shawl, each featuring bold and attention-grabbing designs by Ntiense, Yoshiko and Andre from fun zebras and witty typography to visual musings on fashion itself. Shop the Intoart and John Smedley collaboration here.

What made you excited about working with John Smedley?

John Smedley is such a well-regarded British producer of knitwear. From the inception of the project, we had confidence in working together, knowing the time and attention to detail given to each John Smedley garment. To develop a collection of hand-crafted pieces, with high production values and integrity, mirrors the values and ethos of our own studio practice. When the opportunity arose, we were excited to take our drawings from the Intoart studio into a knitwear collection to create something truly exciting.

Who are the three participating artists and why were they chosen in particular?

All three artists, Ntiense Eno Amooquaye, Yoshiko Phillips and Andre Williams, have strong visual language that translates well into fashion. The Intoart studio is a hive of creativity. The three artists and designers (working alongside creative lead Holly Fulton and illustrator James Lambert) have created knitwear that speaks to their own strong sense of line colour and style. Andre Williams’ text based knits poke fun, employing comical bravado, Yoshiko Phillips’ bold animal patterns evoke the animal spirits of predator and prey and Ntiense Eno Amooquaye’s unique visual language references fashion iconography and it’s embodiment in the image of the fashion model.

How would you describe each artist’s style?

Ntiense’s practice integrates the visual with written and spoken word through print, text, image and live performance. Since joining the Intoart collective in 2007, a number of significant works have been exhibited and performed in major contemporary art galleries and museums in the UK including her solo exhibition at the Poetry Library, Southbank Centre in 2014. This project isn’t Ntiense’s first foray into textile design. She created hand-screened designs on linen and a placement-printed silk dress to set the scene for her performance of a newly published collection, Dress Poems. Her poem The Model addresses the image of the fashion model, a she has used lines from it in her printed textiles. Another poem Flax like an Ocean was written during time spent in Belgium. It explores themes from Ntiense's wide reading about the history of linen and lace production and its shared history with Europe, in particular the figure of Matilda of Flanders who became Queen of England in 1051. The performance and writing forms the basis on a short film which premiered in April 2018.

Andre Williams is a strong draftsman and image-maker. Andre’s graphic sensibilities alongside arresting imagery and typography incorporate humour to dramatic effect in his original works and riso prints including It’s a Disaster and Hard Labour. He has also applied his graphic drawing style and striking use of colour to screen printed textiles and painted laser cut wood reliefs. The application of Williams’ work to textiles, furniture and unique objects furthers his vast collection drawings of masks, robots and mystical creatures to play with scale, surface pattern and 3D form.

Much of the work Yoshiko makes has an inherently bold, graphic style full of complex motifs and engaging characters. She creates images that are full of merry characters and dazzling colour combinations. Phillips’ ink works on paper are inspired by traditional Japanese embroidery, textiles and block printed Ukiyo-e. Often referencing animals, mythical creatures and beasts these majestically coloured and enigmatic compositions employ bold confident line-work reminiscent of ancient calligraphy.

What was the process behind the creation of the pieces?

The artists had creative control over their starting point and ideas for the collection that drew upon existing interests of the artists and their own studio practice and shared themes explored in the Intoart design studio. It was important that the final designs retained the drawn line of each artist as they are taken into the design process and into the knit.

To understand both the limitations and potential of the knitwear process and product, the artists visited the John Smedley mill in Matlock, Derbyshire, in early 2018 to see the production of garments from design stage through to finished piece.  

We met with the team at John Smedley to show some early designs, ideas, and colourways based on the AW18 season colours. At this early stage it was clear that the team were happy to hand the creative decision making over to the three artists and Holly and James through their work together in the Intoart studio. Holly and James spent two months with the three artists in the studio working on the design process.

What does a project like this mean for Intoart and its mission?

The Intoart x John Smedley collection exemplifies Intoart’s vision to nurture creative collaborations that celebrate the extraordinary talents working in the Intoart studio. Intoart invites professionals from their given field, in this case fashion, to contribute a new skill set, external creative input and industry experience to the Intoart studio. This project represents the coming together of the artists own ideas and artwork with the design experience of Holly and James in building a capsule collection of knitwear. Intoart’s role is to nurture new opportunities, challenge preconceptions, develop a framework that makes collaborations possible, mutually exciting and positive for all involved. Presenting Yoshiko Phillips, Andre Williams and Ntiense Eno Amooquaye in such a bold and confident collection means that Intoart can make the case to the design industry and our supporters that so much is possible when given the opportunities and taken seriously as artists and designers.