Lucie Loves... Fashion // Jigsaw x Audrey Louise Reynolds SS16 collaboration

One of my favourite things about the pairing of art and fashion is that you never really know what to expect when those two beautiful worlds collide. 

I went along to Jigsaw’s Duke Street Emporium to find out about The Creators Project, an experimental collaboration, which aims to bring together design and craftsmanship.

Audrey Louise Reynold’s is a New York artist who has worked with Jigsaw’s in-house design team to develop a very special print-making technique to use rain to imprint the colours of natural ingredients, such as wild blackberries, dandelion, weeping willow bark and pale pink crystals on a specially commissioned collection.

I told Audrey – a beautiful, tall, willowy brunette – that she reminded me very much of Pamela Love (a proper #girlcrush of mine!) It turns out that Pamela is actually her best friend. I was in awe!! 

“I find that collaborating with nature leaves so much up to chance.

I think there’s something much more beautiful about that than anything I could calculate on my own.” ~ Audrey Louise Reynolds

My favourite piece from the collection is the digitally-remastered multi-coloured rain print dress, as seen on Audrey herself. The limited edition collection, curated carefully across rails, consists of a limited run of just 50 pieces. 

Essentially, buying an item from the Jigsaw x ALR collection will be like owning a piece of art. No two garments are the same (apart from the digitally printed pieces). What to expect: simple, classic shapes so that the prints are the things that dazzle. Slouchy tees, long-line maxis and camis. Perfect spring/summer wardrobe pieces.

“Jigsaw has a heritage of linen product and for SS16 we were feeling a real passion for the fibre and its relevance as a contemporary product worth celebrating in a new light,” ~ Sally Graveling, Head of Design, Jigsaw

On arrival at 55 Duke Street, James and I were really impressed with the beautiful store. It has a cafe vibe and sells Aesop too!

Endless flutes of Prosecco and botanical cocktails were served, created by the talented Mr Lyan, an array of edible floral canapés and other delights kept guests well-fed and watered.

“We associate rain with dreariness but all that is beautiful relies on it. Imagine how exotic rain could be if we coloured it.” ~ Audrey Louise Reynolds

Audrey’s pieces are as unique as each drop of Brooklyn rain. While many of us want to hide indoors on rainy days, Audrey sets to work at her Brooklyn loft, making the most of the earth and elements to create her unique art.

Audrey is a self-taught pigment expert, artist and (like me) a colour fanatic! From soft cotton cashmere and silk to Irish linen pieces from Irish family-run supplier Baird McNutt, the collection reimagines contemporary ready-to-wear fashion.

I’m a huge supporter of British fashion brands, and work closely with Young British Designers to support new and emerging talent. I feel Jigsaw’s latest brand – and the introduction of The Creators Project – is exactly the kind of thing that would turn me from just an admirer into a real Jigsaw fan.

Audrey completes the story: “I find that collaborating with nature leaves so much up to chance but it’s kind of the way we live our lives. So you can control it to a certain point and then you put it in the wind or you put it in the water or you put it in this thing that will change and morph it in never twice the same way. I think there’s something much more beautiful about that than anything I could calculate on my own.” 

My friend’s and I (the generation that saw Topshop get good) always viewed Jigsaw as one the brands that was always still slightly too old for us, slightly out of reach, in terms of both price and style. However, my latest visit to the Duke Street Emporium, has made me a complete convert! I literally wanted to buy/wear everything. Whether it’s me reaching 30 or the brand’s design team getting younger, I don’t know? But I like it. 

Check out the Jigsaw lookbooks here, and tell me you do not want to buy any of it? I dare you! It’s so pretty!

Photography © Lucie Kerley