On July 12th, 2022, the first images from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope were revealed. There is no extravagant way to say it - the images are simply incredible.

The images influenced our perception of colour, of black. Black was seen in a new light. Black suddenly felt like an escape, a journey into the unknown. At times we have felt uncertain about the world, but galactic science and exploration gave us a feeling that hope and beauty could be found in uncertainty.

The Tarantula collection is named after the Tarantula Nebula, the largest and brightest star-forming region in the 'Local Group' of galaxies closest to our Milky Way. Tarantula (the collection) is designed around the three great mysteries - creation, infinity, and oblivion - of which the answers lie in cosmic exploration. Creation - how did the universe begin? What is the meaning of life? Infinity - will we ever truly understand infinity and the expanses of the universe? When does time end? Oblivion - is there life after death? Is death a passing into another dimension of reality, akin to a black hole?

The incredible emotional reaction to JWST's images set us off on a cosmic journey to replicate the inspiration into wearable art. Along the way, we partnered with two artists - Lea Rose Kara, a London-based Sculptor, and Studio Cosmogram, a London-based visual design studio.

Through the images and our work on the collection, the colour black was no longer a cover or a shield. It became an incredible base to highlight embellishment, texture, and colour, a way to expand upon and reinterpret the visual language of Blue Nude. We explored many new techniques for the collection - sculpture, screenprint, and couture embroidery. 

Throughout the process of creating the Tarantula collection, our studio has focused on a particular emotional reaction in response to the images: gratitude. How lucky we are to be alive, to see humanity nudge towards the answers, and witness the spectacle of the universe.

Released for AW23.

Learn more about the collection here.