The Manchester-based British artist Stephen Doherty is best known for his images of flowers, a fascination which began while he was artist-in-residence at Aamir Art House in Porvorim, Goa, in 2018. Titled Gratitude Blooms, the ongoing series was initially inspired by the flowers used in ritual celebrations and ‘performative acts of gratitude’ in the country, particularly local shrines. Other works explore the human body.
Launching tomorrow (8 June 2023), his works will adorn a new capsule collection from London-based label COS, created in collaboration between Doherty and the brand’s design director Karin Gustafsson. The 17-piece men’s and women’s capsule, titled ‘COS x Stephen Doherty’, is designed to capture the moment in summer when flowers are in heady bloom. ‘It celebrates the beauty of nature in its most exquisite form,’ says the brand of the collection, which features limited-edition ink-and-water floral works by Doherty.
COS collaborates with Stephen Doherty on flower-adorned collection
The artist works on one of his flower pieces, inspired by ritual celebrations and ‘performative acts of gratitude’
The collaboration began, fittingly, at London’s Chelsea Flower Show. ‘I was working at a little pop-up studio over at the show when I met some of the COS creative team,’ he explains. ‘A little later they reached out and we shared ideas on what we saw for the collection and put together an initial line-up. They’ve been really open from the beginning and so great to work with. We definitely have a shared appreciation for beauty in simplicity.’
Flowers, for him, ‘are soft yet strong. I try to capture a sense of ease and hope that emotes from them,’ he says. Of the origins of the Gratitude Flowers series, he remembers ‘being based in a small town on the top floor of an apartment block which overlooked a huge bird sanctuary and a lake’, at the Goa residency. ‘It was just after the monsoon season, everything was so lush and in bloom. I spent a lot of time in and around the many shrines and the use of flowers in those spaces is something I kept coming back to.’
Doherty’s favourite bloom is the fragile-petalled anemone flower. ‘They're so beautiful and light, I also love their association with hope and anticipation,’ he says.
The capsule collection – which ‘embraces the synergy between art and fashion,’ as COS describes – comprises effortless pieces inspired by the ease of summer, from flower-adorned shirts to diaphanous dresses and scarves. Pieces are designed to be worn in ‘endless’ iterations and are primarily crafted from lightweight layers of silk and linen. Craftsmanship is also central, from intricate beading on bandeau tops to the floral motifs reworked onto leather mules.
A selection of Doherty’s works
‘We fell in love with Stephen’s work as soon as we saw it, it is such a beautiful blend of skills and craft,’ says Gustafsson. ‘We design our collections with quality in materials, fit and details at the forefront. They should be memorable and evoke “must have” feeling, which is how we felt when first coming across Stephen’s work.’
The collection will be available from selected COS stores around the world from 8 June 2023. ‘It feels great,’ says Doherty of the collection’s international outlook. ‘I can’t wait to see people walking around in it.’
COS x Stephen Doherty capsule launches online and in select COS stores on the 8 June.
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