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The Louise Fong dress from Summer 1994 features
the artist's strong monochromatic images printed on to Tyvec. This is
a manmade fabric used in the building and safety clothing industries
that Workshop was experimenting with at the time. It was a small range
comprising a dress, shirt and zip up jacket.
John Reynolds anti nuclear T-shirt from September
1995 was a tongue-in-cheek treatment of a series of socio-political
issues. Reynolds also provided commissioned works for the Corbans Fashion
show of 1992 and for the opening of Workshop's flagship store in Newmarket.
The latter included 3 works; a large mural painted onto a brickwall,
a 1.5m x 2m work carved into a plaster panel and a free standing 2m
x 3m 'blackboard'.
Te Rangitu Netana was commissioned to create
a series of graphic images based around his artistic interpretation
of classic Maori symbols and motifs. The original work created the illusion
of tattoos on clothing and was first used in the Workshop men's collection
at the 1998 Australian Fashion Week. The success of this led to its
further development and use on the border print shirt, Workshop Denim
T-Shirts and tanks and in the Helen Cherry collection. Commercially,
this was a very successful collaboration.
Workshop continues to work with local artists
to develop distinct and original prints for their collections. The summer
2002 collections showcased works including further collaboration with
Dennis Blair with his 'Blue Maiden' print, John Pule's graphic poetry,
graffiti artist Enuake Sirikage's Flower prints and designer Stephen
Green's 'Tiki'.
These developments stem as much from a respect
for these artist and the enjoyment of the collaborative creative process,
as a desire to offer commercially viable alternative product. All these
garments and the continuing developments are sold primarily in our own
stores and selected outlets throughout New Zealand and Australia.
Chris Snell, RCM Clothing, July 2002.