Monday 22 June 2009

Mon 22nd June: Charlotte Mann Vs. Peter's Rabbit

He's done it again.  Peter Jensen keeps making me smile.  Not only for his fantastic new collection but also for the joint venture with Charlotte Mann, whose work I also adore.  
Peter has revisited the tessellating Mildred bunny as identity for his first mid-season resort collection.  To show off the range to best affect, he joined forces with Charlotte Mann - a regular artist to team up with the House of Jensen.  The two creatives met at Saint Martins and have been both friends and collaborators ever since.  Charlotte was responsible for the set design for Peter's S/S 07 catwalk by  illustrating the 30m long back drops.  The latest interior still has her signature life-size marker pen drawings but the theme has switched from Tina Barney to Diane Arbus.   The Diane Arbus original "The Tripletts" was Peter's starting point for the actual collection.  In response to this, the design is Mann's interpretations of the photos and press cuttings that Diane had taped to her walls.  Charlotte has kindly sent me some of her work-in progress photos where she is patiently inking out wood grain for the floor panel.  There is also a detail shot of her reproduction of the topsy-turvy bunny repeat as wallpaper. 






Charlotte's sensational giant scale scrbbly lines have graced the walls of boutiques, show-rooms, event spaces and even homes.  How magical it would be to have hand-drawn tromp l'oeil wall paper!  Wow!  I love her timeless style and the way it feels as if a book has been brought to life and you are living on a page.  Luckily I am the owner of her two books which she gave me as a gift when I met her for a job for Kickers.  Here is a detail from the title "Drawings"  which is a compilation of selected pages from her sketchbooks.  

To see more from her publications and comissions head to:  http://www.charlottemann.co.uk