Welcome to
the jungle! I had the privilege of visiting the studio of Hunt Slonem for his
collaboration with Echo Design this week.
The renowned artist is famous for his tropical hued works of parrots and
rabbits.
The
accessory group Echo Design is known for mid-priced fashion forward accessories
across many categories. While they were
always trend-driven, they wanted to do collaboration with an artist. It turns out that executives were friends of
a friend of Slonem and the rest was on display at his studio.
The studio
was huge, with an aviary in the back housing his large bird collection. Open plan rooms were filled with eclectic furniture
and photos of his celebrity and society friends. There was the famous “Bunny Wall” a popular motif
that most of his fans associate with his work.
The mass collections of bunny works are actually an artistic exercise
for him to practice his technique. Many
art professors will teach that repetition and meditation is a key tool to
mastering your work. It turns out;
brushstroke rabbits translate very well into a fashion print.
Hunt Slonem
has always been inspired by nature. He
chased butterflies in Nicaragua, grew orchids in Hawaii and of course his very
vocal parrots on site. My cousin and I
were a little disappointed that we did not find a collection of bunnies to hop
around with, but one has to stop somewhere.
The Echo
Design collection itself consists of several scarf designs and tote bags. Scarves were produced in several sizes, some
large enough to be worn as a simple dress.
The colors reflected the vibrant hues of the artist’s work. The prints included Hunt Slonem’s butterflies
and his famous rabbits.
I could see
this collection selling at galleries and museums. However Echo Design is staying true to its
fashion and department store customer base, they are just bringing a bit of art
into the mix.
photos by Mariana Leung
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