tHEE VESTMENTS the label that has rapidly gained a reputation for quality textiles and scarves, is to create its first physical presentation, entitled ‘Unlimited Capacity for Love’, this week.
For five days only, tHEE VESTMENTS unique scarves will be displayed alongside works produced by the brand’s founder, fine-art trained Nicholas Kalinoski, in an installation that more closely resembles an exhibition than a traditional retail space.
‘Unlimited Capacity for Love’ will include pieces from the first three collections, designed under the themes of ‘Atmosphere’, ‘Orgy’ and ‘Raw’, as well as scarves featuring a new, as yet unreleased, print. Each design is available in a limited edition of 100, and can be purchased on site.
Kalinoski’s eclectic inspirations include his early life growing up in a small US steel town, his experiences living in New York, where he worked in fashion for a decade, the UK countryside, where he now resides, and London where his creative collaborators are established.
From punk rock emblems to tribal symbolism, from distorted lyrics to abstracted florals – a myriad of motifs appear in distinctive designs that at once evoke the past and present. Designs that are imbued with the primordial and the contemporary, filled with references that resonate with humanity’s ephemeral and enduring condition.
Choosing to focus on the historical importance embellished fabric has played in past cultures, Kalinoski works to create wearable relics of our contemporary lives. Reflecting our shared emotional history he creates designs that combine traditional techniques with modern visual languages. Fabrics such as cotton, linen, flax and silk are printed, embellished and woven into portable tapestries that are timeless, durable and, at the same time, are representations of current energies.
“Working with people who make things – weavers, sewers, tailors, colourists – appeals to me. The status quo of waste does not.”
After a period of time dedicated to developing his studio and design practice, Kalinoski is ready to bring tHEE VESTMENTS (until now only available through private order) into the wider world – to create a tangible connection with his collectors through the installation, which he hopes will also inspire a new audience ‘To touch something they have felt’.
‘The narrative behind the pieces are specific to my experiences. But the root of that experience is a shared one. This is one of the reasons I wanted to create the presentation. To provide a three dimensional world where one can see the works that inspire the scarves, as well providing the space and time for collectors to interact with the textiles, to feel their emotional weight and see that these are pieces to cherish.’
Nicholas Kalinoski
Unlimited Capacity for Love runs from 24th-28th April in Marylebone, London and is the first in an ongoing series of multi-media installations that explore the relationship between tHEE VESTMENTS and Kalinoski’s studio practice. Unlimited Capacity for Love: 24th-28th April, 09:00-19:00 daily 35 Baker Street, Marylebone, London W1U 8EN
