"Every movement in this coat feels like a journey." - Mark van Drunick
Speaking Garments stands for collaboration with artists and the creation of unique pieces. For us, the artist and their work is just as valuable as the creation of the garments. That is why we are always particularly pleased when we meet artists who live their own form of art and who simply enjoy wearing our clothes because they recognise the artistic uniqueness in them. One such personality is the dancer Mark van Drunick.
Mark grew up with dance. His parents, both former dancers and owners of the dance school DansPodium in Zevenaar, inspired him to dance. "My parents exuded an intense joy in teaching and made me and many others fall in love with movement. They never forced me to dance; I tried gymnastics, football and piano, but all that was nothing compared to the happiness I feel in the dance studio."
Participating in this year's ART COLOGNE was a special pleasure for us. As the oldest art fair in the world, ART COLOGNE is the most important meeting place for galleries and institutions in Germany. We were all the more pleased to have been selected to participate. Especially as we are celebrating the fifth anniversary of our brand this year. I founded Speaking Garments out of a deep passion for fashion, but also with a great appreciation for artists and their work. Not only has it been a pleasure to realise our four editions, but also the trust the artists have demonstrated in my work. For us, the presence at ART COLOGNE is an affirmation of our claim to combine fashion and art and to go beyond a classic fashion collaboration through limitation and the artists' signing.
Exhibition at K21 (Kunstsammlung NRW), Düsseldorf as part of the strike a pose festival.
For our third anniversary, we worked with three of our favourite photographers (Carolin Mackintosh, Tereza Mundilova and Michele Di Dio), and portrayed interesting personalities.
We visited creative people from different fields to talk to them about work and their relationship to art and photographed them in their private environment, for which they chose the piece of our collections they could identify with the most.
In collaboration with APROPOS, we have designed a personalised version of our ARTITS PROOF sweater This one is done in ecru and black. The APROPOS letters are highlighted in purple and green. The edition is exclusively available in the Cologne store.
Ann Kuen, artist and model, is one of the personalities who represents the unique look and feel of our brand with her combination of artistic expression and casual look. For this reason, we are especially pleased that she is one of the testimonials for our brand.
Presentation of the Gert & Uwe Tobias Textile Edition and exhibition BLACK WIND BLOWING at the CONTEMPORARY FINE ARTS Gallery, BERLIN on 17 December 2019.
