Art and Collections cover on the left - logo and a black and white photo of a woman's face, onthe right an image of the opening of the article as seen below'

Arts & COLLECTIONS
Vol. 3

ART YOU CAN WEAR

Art doesn’t have to be framed and hung on your walls - Alba Amicorum’s scarves show it can be worn too.

In the heart of London’s fashionable Belgravia is the atelier of Alba Amicorum, which can claim, possibly uniquely, to be a “wearable art and luxury scarf studio and shop”. Conceived by the artist, graphic designer, and collector Darshana Shilpi Rouget in 2020 as an incubator for wearable textile art, Alba Amicorum was launched as a collaborative endeavour to connect Shilpi Rouget with an impressive list of international artists, artist estates and creatives.  Using the scarf as a medium for “unframing” art and turning it into a wearable timeless object and accessory, Alba Amicorum is dedicated to producing limited edition collections, and advocating for a more considerate and sustainable consumption.  Alba Amicorum takes inspiration from Renaissance ‘friendship books’ which young men and women in 16th-century Europe would fill with musings and contributions from the ‘influencers of their day’ as they travelled between universities and great cities. 

In this spirit, Darshana uses the scarf as a canvas for expressing thoughts and ideas through collaborations with artists and friends around the world.  

Shilpi Rouget has gathered her international collective of collaborators and artisans after a longstanding career as a creative director and graphic designer for prestigious luxury brands such as Tiffany’s, Cartier and Conde Nast and having lived in New York, Brussels and London.
The medium is scarves, meticulously printed in limited editions, resulting from collaborations with artists and artisans, and their work is translated onto the finest silks and cashmere by a skilled family of Italian artisans in Como, who print scarves for the fashion world’s most prestigious designers. The collaborations at Alba Amicorum liberate art from the frame and onto fluid fabric – to be worn, draped or wrapped in any way the wearer chooses.

Since the brand’s launch in 2020, Alba Amicorum has collaborated with a carefully curated selection of artists and creatives, from Man Ray Estate to prima ballerinas Misako Kato & Juliet Burnett, Indonesian artist Joel Benguigui, Mongolian artist Shagdarjavin Chimeddorj, New York based writer Ross Klavan, Mexican illustrator and artist Deni Javas, American photographer James T Murray and American artist Mary Jones. In 2020, Darshana also created a collection of scarves around the work of her late father, esteemed Indian multidisciplinary artist Babuji Rajendra Shilpi, whose rich colourful work celebrated Indian heritage and ancient arts.

This Winter, Alba Amicorum will launch a new collection of handmade ‘twillies’ to be tied around a bag, or worn as a neckerchief, bracelet or pocket square, offering a luxurious and imaginative detail to any outfit, transforming it through the timeless accessory of the scarf. 

  

issu.com (pages 45-46)

 

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