As the Tate Britain gears up for the opening of their major retrospective, Barbara Hepworth: Sculpture for a Modern World, designer Margaret Howell has been busy designing some sculptural pieces of her own. In collaboration with Tate, Howell has created a range of workwear inspired by Hepworth and her studio in St Ives, where the artists aprons and shirts were all indigo and tan, and splattered with plaster of paris.
“Barbara Hepworth is one of a few special people who have inspired me – through her work, her life and her style,” says Howell. “She was a woman to roll up her sleeves, and a woman who needed pockets – for chisel, pencil, and pebbles from the beach. I recognise her world – I had early holidays in St Ives and some time living in the Yorkshire Dales – and share her affinity with the rugged form of these landscapes, and the textures of wood, stone and plant. I connect with her independence, strength and hands-on approach as an artist, but also with her choice of work clothes and the way she wore them. These pieces were designed to celebrate her spirit and I like to think she would have been happy to wear them.”
The range includes a duffel coat, dungarees, an artists smock and printed silk scarves, and will be available to buy at Tate Britain from 25th June, as well as at selected Margaret Howell shops and online at shop.tate.org.uk and margarethowell.co.uk.