Talking about the inspiration for her range of high quality silk scarves, Miss Kiki explains “I first came up with the idea at London Printworks Trust. Textile designer Robert Burton and I were screen-printing his artworks onto silk for a fashion collaboration. It occurred to me then that reproducing artworks on silk in a way that people can wear and so engage with art was an obvious thing to do. When I mentioned this to our close friend Mark Timmins – Director of Fashion at Heriot Watt School of Textiles and Design – he mentioned Zika Ascher to me.

“I did my research and discovered that his story mirrored ours in that he worked with leading artists to create collections of silk panels, and then went on to extract and abstract art onto lengths of fabrics, which he then sold on to couture houses. That is exactly what we had planned to do, so the Ascher’s story provided the perfect backdrop to ours.”

The six different scarf designs will be lovingly produced by the artist and textile designer Robert Burton who regularly collaborates with some of London’s most exciting fashion designers and who designs sublime silk dresses inspired by his own artworks. They will be limited to a run of 50 and will be available only through carefully selected retailers and venues. Every panel will come with an exquisitely designed card telling the story behind the design and giving contact details of its creator.

The collection is aimed at those who love art and who have their own sense of identity and uniqueness. Ultimately, Kiki hopes that each panel will become a treasured and high valued celebration of extraordinary talent.

So are the silk panels art or fashion or even both? Kiki explains “To me the scarves are works of art and I want people to engage with them exactly as they wish to. I wear mine around my neck; singer Gabby Young ties hers together to make a shoulder-piece; we pin them together to make dresses. Our art muse – Stav B – uses them in her performances. Some hang them on their walls.

“In 1947, the great poet and art critic Sacheverell Sitwell wrote (of the Ascher concept): ‘A scarf is, admittedly, not a tapestry, not a dress; it is a mere square of silk or some other material intended to be worn around the head. But it can be treated as a work of art. It can be collected like a rare book or print.’ This is how I see it too.”

Buy the scarves online here