SWAN ART INSPIRES
Canadian designer creates kimono as a commission for Dutch museum
Canadian designer Angie Johnson of Norwegian Wood in Montreal has created a truly museum-worthy garment. The designer was one of five Etsy artisans commissioned by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to create a work from its archives.
The museum has made its wealth of art available for download for personal and creative use. To get the creative juices flowing, it partnered with Etsy, the marketplace for independent artisans. Almost 150,000 works are in the archive.
Johnson created a breathtaking kimono, digitally printed on the back panel with The Threatened Swan, an oil painting by Jan Asselijn, circa 1650. The front panels are printed with images of an inlaid wooden cabinet from the same era.
Johnson said she was excited when she was contacted by the museum in December, especially because she had been doing digital printing for some time but was finding few good images to work with.
“Suddenly, I had this amazing artwork,” said Johnson, who added the original project was for a lingerie set. “I snuck in the kimono.”
She liked the image of the swan because it was angry, she said. And she wanted an animal or landscape for the kimono because people are attracted to them.
She looked through hundreds of images and tried a few florals elements. “But it was too commercial, too obvious. You know, Dutch oil paintings and still lifes,” she said.
A black-and-white Rembrandt print was a possibility, but she wanted painterly colour. The piece was created on silk chiffon, with custom fringe. Collar and sleeves are of bamboo jersey.
A prototype of the kimono and lingerie set are on display in the museum; versions are for sale on Johnson’s website: norwegianwoodonline.com and on etsy.com. The kimono costs $278 Cdn.