Aberdeenshire designer to celebrate 20th anniversary of brand at London Design Festival
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Award-winning Banffshire designer Donna Wilson will celebrate the 20th anniversary of her eponymous brand with a career-spanning exhibition as part of this year’s London Design Festival.
Wilson's milestone show will bring classic designs from throughout her career together with new, unseen work.
Visitors to her tactile, woolly wonderland at Shoreditch in the heart of east London will be invited to follow the thread of her unique journey as they wind their way through the exhibition.
Renowned for her distinctive use of colour and pattern, Wilson’s designs are infused with her playful sense of humour, her love of nature and a life-long passion for craft and making.
She will be launching her own series of made-to-order knitted and felted wall hangings, as well as creative collaborations with fellow artists Rob Ryan and Stewart Easton, and small-batch handmade ceramics produced by Cécile Dumetier of Atelier Cé.
Wilson will also be unveiling a unique upholstery project produced in partnership with long-term collaborators SCP, as well as new additions to her collectable Abstract Assembly collection.
She has also designed a new pattern to celebrate the occasion, which has been applied to a limited-edition collection of creatures, homeware and accessories – including unofficial mascot, Cyril Squirrel Fox.
These will be available to buy exclusively at the pop-up during London Design Festival, alongside her classic designs.
Visitors will be able to engage further via a series of talks and workshops taking place within the space, including a late-night opening on Tuesday, September 19.
The 20th anniversary exhibition will be held at 135 Bethnal Green Road, London from September 16-24.
Born and bred on a farm near Banff, Wilson founded her London design studio in 2003, after graduating from the Royal College of Art.
Her first collection was promptly snapped up by design entrepreneur Murray Moss, propelling her into the dizzying heights of the design world.
As her collection has expanded from curious knitted creatures to colourful homeware, knitwear and accessories, so has her appeal, earning her a devoted following of design enthusiasts, collectors and the young at heart.
Crowned as Elle Decoration’s Designer of the Year in 2010, over the course of her career Wilson has collaborated with internationally acclaimed brands including Hermes, Merci, Penguin Random House and LeSportsac, leading cultural institutions including V&A, CooperHewitt and The Whitney Museum of Modern Art, and exhibited her work around the world.
As a forerunner of the contemporary craft movement, she has always remained true to her principles, using traditional techniques and locally based suppliers wherever possible.
The Donna Wilson studio is based in east London where she and her team knit, sew and ship her designs to stockists and fans worldwide.
Visit www.donnawilson.com for more on the exhibition and the designer.
