In
celebration of the 10th anniversary of British design
house Alexander McQueen‘s iconic skull scarf, British artist Damien
Hirst collaborated with the famed fashion brand in the creation of 30
limited edition
scarves. The patterns were adapted
from Hirst’s Entomology series, a body of work that he began in 2009.
Each print was composed from the intricate placement of butterflies,
spiders and various insect species in the formation of kaleidoscopic,
geometric
shapes. the scarves appropriate the motifs in the organizational layout
of McQueen’s signature skull image, an unmistakable emblem of the brand.
The partnership
seamlessly played on the shared aesthetic vision of the artist and
designer, in
which symmetry and strong references to natural history and the
environment are
significant parts of their creative vision.
The most
surprising thing about Damien Hirst’s collaboration with Alexander
McQueen is that it didn’t happen sooner. Hirst
and McQueen knew each other, and, although they were not great friends,
they were great contemporaries. Both burst onto the scene in the 1990s,
when London thrilled with renegade creative energy. The shocks and
game-changing ideas that Hirst delivered to the art world were matched
by McQueen’s uncompromising fashion aesthetic. Death and nature were
recurring themes for both.