Hangbags from Deadly Ponies’ new Winter 2020 collection. Images supplied.
Deadly Ponies have released a gorgeous new collection for Winter 2020 that draws inspiration from influential textile artist Anni Albers. The Deadly Ponies x Anni Albers range was created in collaboration with the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation and celebrates a woman that was often overshadowed by her artist husband, Josef.
Anni Albers (1899 – 1994) was an innovative weaver who applied modernist ideas to the ancient craft of the loom, making a name for herself as the most innovative textile artist of the 20th century. Her monumental, grid-like wall hangings that took her months at a time to make (each meticulously planned out in gouache on paper), were the starting point of inspiration for Deadly Ponies’ designer Liam Bowden in creating the new collection.
“Anni’s work strikes the perfect balance between art and wearability, which is something that we strive to do,” says Liam Bowden. “The collaboration with the Foundation was an incredible opportunity to look through her archives, and appreciate first-hand how inspirationally innovative her techniques and colours were.”
The range was a year in the making and each piece harnesses Deadly Ponies’ innovative and timeless design with the enduring popularity of Anni Albers, telling a story that merges fashion and art. The eye-catching geometric design on the bags was inspired by Anni Albers’ “Red Meander” (1969) which itself revisits a design that Albers had invented years before in linen and cotton, and also one with an ancient and extensive history. The device of the meander is named for a river in Greece, which winds its way through the countryside. The pattern was used extensively by the Greeks in their geometric pottery and on archaic sculpture, and by pre-Columbian cultures in textiles and sculptural reliefs.
When it came to replicating this work Deadly Ponies using the technique of screen printing onto American small-grain calf to create their bags. Each colour on the print is individually lined up and silk-screened to create the pattern and the detailed technique requires design and placement for each individual piece of leather to ensure the best presentation of the print on the product.
Among the products featuring the Meader print are Mr Cinch Mini, Mr Boxette, Mr Porter, Mr Mossat and Mr Siamese with wallets and pouches available too. The Mr Cinch Mini is a stand-out for Liam and is a new shape for Deadly Ponies, that features the stunning print as well as new season hues of Garnet (the brand’s first true red leather) Basalt and Forest.
Each piece comes with a limited edition numbered card to cement its collector’s item status and will no doubt be appreciated by fans of the arts and Deadly Ponies.
Images supplied.