lionheart shirt

I created this shirt for Patrick Wolf to wear on tour back in June last year, and in terms of shirts that I've made, it's still one of my favourite pieces. Of course this is entirely due to the fantastic print - it is called Lionheart, and was produced by the artist, designer and illustrator Ed Kluz for St. Jude's Fabrics. I am a huge fan of Ed Kluz's work - it's steeped in English Romanticism, so charming and colourful. As soon as I came across this print (possibly at Ed's excellent Theatre Britannica exhibition, which was presented at my friend Ben Pentreath's shop), I knew that I had to do something with it. So, a month or so later, it became a shirt. (The fabric is actually very heavy linen, but it needed to be worn, I thought!)

Ed explains the inspiration behind this particular design:

'Lionheart depicts the simplified forms of castles, follies, pavilions, cottages, cathedrals, mills, a steam train and a sailing ship with the lion rampant at the core. I wanted to create a pattern which hints at the man made symbols of Britain.'

He most certainly succeeded, wouldn't you agreee? This wonderful fabric is a true testament to a roaringly brilliant Britain!