The answer, I decided, was to devise a project that would bring together a variety of different cultural strands in such a way that the resulting artwork would be immediately accessible.  This project was "Cultural Ties".  Artists from all over the world would be asked to design a tie, those ties would be manufactured in a limited edition and in the process art in all its diversity would be alive and well and also able to play a part in everyday life.  This is the story of the project a two and a half year journey from inspiration to the appearance of the finished work and it shows just what can be achieved with the help of some of the worlds most exciting artists. 

After the initial excitement that is always generated by the thought of a new project had worn off, a number of doubts began to emerge.  Was the tie too closely associated with the West and with conformity ? Was it too much an indication of the older generation, of status and class? Would artists from a range of cultures and backgrounds feel able to relate to this foreign object and be enthusiastic about participating in the project? I realised that it was not my job to answer these questions for individual contributors.  Instead, I had to emphasise the principles underlying the project - the tie was to be seen as a blank canvas or a platform, the artists were to be themselves and not to fall into the trap of feeling constrained to design an acceptable item of clothing, and, maybe most importantly, the project was to be fun.  With these points clear in my mind, I then rang a friend in the fashion world for advice and he suggested we meet his team of project developers.  The plan of action we came up with as a result of this, we would send out letters inviting artists to participate.  Those who agreed would receive a calico template in the form of an open tie and would be offered all the help they needed to deal with any technical problems they had in the realisation of their work, and the ties would be made in a signed, limited edition and sold worldwide in fashion outlets. 

The list we drew up was like a fantasy line-up of the most influential sculptors, painters, video, illustration and conceptual artists working in the mainstream art world in Europe, North America and Asia. However, we knew it would be those working outside this area who would ultimately define this project - tribal and new artists, those for whom art was part of their everyday activities, existing without reference to the demands of the commercial art establishment, with its critics, collectors, dealers and museums.

We approached 240 artists, on the assumption that maybe 40 per cent would be interested. The letter we sent was simple, outlining only the minimum guidelines, as we didn't want to inhibit creativity. We were aiming for a global group show without hierarchy, a celebration of differences, and to achieve that we were going to leave as much as possible up to the individual artists.

The response we had was amazing. Faxes and letters that were often artworks in their own right came thick and fast. We had a staggering 160 replies, and even the thirty of those who declined to participate were generous in their good wishes.

The templates went out next, together with a questionnaire asking contributors what technics we should use to realise their design, whether the tie was to be woven or printed, and what material was to be employed. I think it was only when the designs started to trickle in that it dawned on us how ambitious this project was. With the commitment and trust from the artists came the massive responsibility to make 'Cultural Ties' work. The trickle then became a stream, and still the packages kept arriving.

Some of the artists had found the calico template too constricting and painted or collaged on to  canvas or watercolour paper. The younger generation had supplied computer discs with colour instructions and detailed designs. There were also pieces of sculpture and reliefs made from twigs, steel cable and glass; designs that were so witty they made us laugh; and paintings and drawings that were positively dazzling in their use of colour. It looked like everyone had been having fun with their prototypes.

Even though we had not yet received all the design templates, we decided to move on to the  next stage and translate the prototypes into textiles. This was where collaboration with individual artists was going to be crucial. Each of them knew how they wanted their tie to be, but were not always sure it would be technically possible. Consultation of this sort could not be done over the telephone, so studio visits were planned to talk through the options. And in the process these personal visits made the 'Cultural Ties' project real, bringing about the interaction that we had been looking for.

The studio is a reflection of an artist's character and temperament; it is a place of work but also a haven, somewhere to gestate ideas.  It follows that every artist's studio has a different atmosphere.  The dimly lit house in Manhattan where Louise Bourgeois works, for example, seems to belong not to the twenty-first century at all but rather to pre-war Paris.  In contrast, Jeff Koons works surrounded by computer screens, ringing telephones and desks laden with designs and Marquette's for projects, while frantic assistants  labour to meet deadlines for sculptures that will be exhibited all over the world.  The Indian artist Raza, meanwhile is based in a converted seventeenth-century convent in Paris and works surrounded by piles of books, the walls hung with a profusion of illustrated Indian manuscripts and antique carvings.  Lucy Swan, on the other hand, works in the dirty industrial grime of her south London studio, producing her precisely carved stone sculptures in often freezing conditions.

Our original idea had been to launch 'Cultural Ties' in February 1999, in time for Valentine's Day, but this was beginning to look unrealistic.  By now it was July 1998 and we had hit a number of problems.  The decision had already been taken early on to manufacture the ties in Como, Italy, the centre for silk textiles in Europe, but factories would be shutting for the August holidays, so there would not be enough time to research and approve samples.  Also a lot of the artists we were chasing were on holidays themselves.  Then there were the artists who had still not responded.  These tended to be the tribal artists in Australia and those working in faraway places and this added to our dilemma.  Should we delay the launch to the end of 2000 to allow 'Cultural Ties' a chance to appear in the form we had initially envisaged, or cut down the number of participants, thus making it a very Western-centred project? In the end we decided to part company 'Cultural Ties' was ready to be developed to the manufacturing stage but we were without financial backing.

I was in the South of France visiting design and fashion entrepreneur Gavin Aldred, an art collector friend, and told him all about the fate of 'Cultural Ties'.  He was immediately attracted to the project's fusion of artistic expression, fashion and commerce, and agreed to provide both financing and direction.  He proposed a complete management structure to run things, and made various changes to our existing ideas.  The limited edition of these ties would be increased from 150 to 300, and up to eighty artist's work would be produced.  Distribution would be primarily through art galleries, museum shops and a dedicated website, www.culturalties.com, taking the project into the high street.  We planned a PR campaign to convey our message and place the story in the media. 

As the next priority was to make the ties, a production team was recruited.  Francesca Amfitheatrof, the creative and dynamic jewellery designer, was an obvious choice, because of her knowledge of the production process as it applies to the exacting artistic field.  She in turn brought in Mark Saunders, co-editor of Dazed & Confused, to help coordinate a group of  additional artists brought in to give the project added dimension and vitality.

Francesca and I went to Como to commission a company who could take on the manufacture of the ties without compromising the artist's design requirements.  They would also have to be able to produce a wide range of ties using a variety often demanding techniques, and of course the schedule was tight.  We agreed immediately: Ratti was the company we were looking for. Founded in 1945, by Antonio Ratti to make silk ties and scarves, the company developed over the next fifty years into a major producer of fine textiles for the fashion industry, coming up with innovative techniques in printing and finishing and a variety of new fibres. They also have a foundation which supports the visual arts and so were the natural choice for our project.

Headed by Graziano Testa, the Ratti team went about making test samples from the original work, metamorphosing paintings and drawings into elegant, rich silk swatches that looked as if they had always existed in fabric form. Designs were transformed into shimmering, sensual velvets, taffeta and densely woven jacquard. Lucy Swan's steel cable was magically turned into a woven silver thread through crisp falling silk. the dry colours of Raza's painting took on a new energy translated into linen and silk.

Although we were understandably anxious to get the artists' reactions, we felt that we should 'proof' as much as possible ourselves in advance to avoid unnecessary changes. We used the original artwork as our absolute guide for positioning, colour and tone. Keeping faith with the artists' intentions would produce work on a par with fine art printing. It would also adhere to the original ethos of 'Cultural Ties': to create ties which were rare, collectable works specified by the artist and not textiles that had been factory-produced for the mass market.

Once we were happy with Ratti's work, we then talked to the artists when we needed their input. We were particularly concerned about the pictorial ties, where the complex mix of colours in the originals had of necessity been simplified in the silk-screen process. For instance, Ken Kiff's vivid colours, which oscillated between luminous, transparent glazes and opaque patches of colour, demanded a printing process which combined traditional transparent ink screening and opaque pigment screening, which gave a tactile variation as well.

With John Hoyland's tie, we combined silk screen with a high-build process to pick out the green and blue and give the correct surface variation. in general, we took great care to choose the right mix of textiles to convey the surface and touch apparent in the artist's originals. The make-up of the cloth determines whether the surface is matt or shiny. The use of soft silks, such as crepe, produces a softer, lighter tie. It is attention to details such as these that sets this project apart from the usual 'art' and novelty ties often seen in museum shops.

Cultural Ties' has been a long and arduous journey. There were any number of times when it seemed that the project might collapse. It is thanks to the total belief of the artists and the conviction and commitment of all those involved in the production of their work that we are now in a position to present our message in tangible form: what strength we have is in unity through diversity.

Kapil Jariwala

Participating Artists