Britain Creates 2012

The British Fashion Council (BFC) is pleased to announce today further plans for its artistic project Britain Creates, as part of the Fashion 2012 platform to celebrate the year of London’s hosting of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Entitled Britain Creates 2012: Fashion & Art Collusion, this project, led by the British Fashion Council/Bazaar Fashion Arts Foundation and in partnership with the Mayor of London, is a unique opportunity to celebrate and strengthen the longstanding relationships between fashion designers and visual artists. Iconic British designers have paired together with top contemporary artists including: Giles Deacon & Jeremy Deller; Hussein Chalayan & Gavin Turk; Jonathan Saunders & Jess Flood-Paddock; Mary Katrantzou & Mark Titchner; Matthew Williamson & Mat Collishaw; Nicholas Kirkwood & Simon Periton; Paul Smith & Charming Baker; Peter Pilotto & Francis Upritchard; and Stephen Jones & Cerith Wyn Evans. More names are expected to join this outstanding roll call of British creative talent.

Britain Creates 2012: Fashion & Art Collusion is part of the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration from 21st June and running until 9th September 2012, bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games are a celebration of excellence and performance and these partnerships have been commissioned to create pieces of work to reflect these special values.

The specially created exclusive pieces will be unveiled on 27th June 2012 at a VIP Gala fundraising event before going on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Monies raised from the gala will form part of a bursary to encourage and support emerging artists and designers and to help encourage future collaborations.

All pieces will be exhibited to the public throughout the London 2012 Festival  – at the V&A from 6th-29th July, followed by an installation in Selfridges ‘Wonder Windows’ programme during July and August.

The BFC will also issue an accompanying book for the exhibition with a foreword by Lucy Yeomans, Editor of Harper’s Bazaar and introduction by renowned fashion writer Iain R. Webb. The publication, an ‘exhibition in a box’ produced with Booth-Clibborn Editions, will include sections on all of the artists and designers, their sketches and proposals for the collaborations, photographs of work in progress and specially commissioned portraits of all the participants, and a set of posters showing each of the finished works.

Harold Tillman CBE, Chairman BFC commented “2012 is such a momentous year. The Britain Creates 2012: Fashion & Art Collusion project to celebrate the London 2012 Festival is the perfect opportunity to showcase unique talent within the UK in the creative industries and echoes the special relationships within. The pieces of art and accompanying book will leave a great legacy to reflect on this special year.”

''As London Fashion Week has just shown, our designers are a tour de force whose talent is important for our economy and the capital's reputation around the world. As one of the greatest centres for culture and creativity, London is the proud home to some of the best designers and artists in the world and this melding of two dynamic strands will produce an exciting exhibition that will be a highlight of our celebrations for 2012.” - The Mayor of London Boris Johnson