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The MacAndreas Tartan brings together two signatures of each design house – a Cole & Son Jaspe strié print and an iconic Vivienne Westwood tartan – to create a subtly refined design with global recognition. The MacAndreas Tartan was originally designed by Vivienne, working with weavers Lochcarron of Scotland, in an homage to her husband and design partner, Andreas Kronthaler. First seen in the seminal Autumn-Winter 1993/94 Gold Label Anglomania collection – a reference to the French passion for all things English. Vivienne’s fascination with English and Scottish traditions served as a source of inspiration and a subject for parody. The fabric was added to the official Scottish Register of Tartans that same year.

Designers at Cole & Son transformed the tartan for an interior by combining it with Cole & Son’s archival strié technique invented by the house’s founder, John Perry. This technique, which spawned the design Jaspe, was inspired by fine silk Perry had seen being dyed in France in the 1800s. He adapted this style for wallpaper using various horse-hair brushes, using a machine to drag the brush along the paper’s surface creating fine lines in the dye. Due to its elegant simplicity, Jaspe remains a beloved addition to the Cole & Son portfolio today.

Like a tartan being woven on a loom, each thread of MacAndreas Tartan was meticulously hand-painted using a strié brush to imitate the fabric, creating a soft texture replicating the warp and weft of silk. Colourings are inspired by the various tartans of the Vivienne Westwood house, ranging from the punk-inspired Cyan & Magenta and Violet & Fluro Green to deep tones of Petrol & Rouge, and the earthy Pine & Teal and Pistachio & Stone.

Animal print has been used by the Vivienne Westwood house for over four decades in bold, subversive interpretations. Leopard print was oversized and magnified in the Spring-Summer 1989 Civilizade collection and later found in bright red tones in Autumn-Winter 1992/93 Always On Camera. Vivienne famously enjoyed using the prints in any way other than how they are found in nature.

Hand-Painted Leopard has been entirely redrawn by hand in the Cole & Son studio, referencing a stylized leopard print with an organic sense of movement. The design has been printed using a screen-print technique to imbue a disruptive spirit and keep the hand of the artwork as faithful as possible.

Colourings offer an unexpected take on more traditional leopard print; in tones of Rose & Tangerine, Moss & Mauve, Sand & Violet, Grey & Metallic Silver, and Petrol & Teal to blur the line between abstract mark-making and the representation of fur.