Aje x Chanel Tobler — Provenance
Evocative of the glamorous South of France, Aje's latest collection, Provenance, invites the art of La Colombe d'Or to contemporary clothing, which are works of art, in a print collaboration with Chanel Tobler.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson I Photography: Myles Kalus
‘Each time I have had the privilege to collaborate and or work on projects with Aje, new threads and entry points into making work appear—both challenging and invigorating me, it is a process I really value,’ says Chanel Tobler. Photo: Myles Kalus
Easy, floaty material and cuts are juxtaposed by pinks, orange, deep burgundy in textural mark-making. Photo: Myles Kalus
‘Overall the final work is very painterly with elements of drawn marks that give the piece movement and texture,’ says Chanel Tobler. Photo: Myles Kalus
After a couple years of lockdown, Provenance — a collaboration between artist Chanel Tobler and Australian fashion house Aje — is the perfect antidote. Inspired by sultry summers in the South of France, the clothes are works of art. Easy, floaty material and cuts are juxtaposed by pinks, orange, deep burgundy in textural mark-making.
The relationship between Aje and Chanel has been an ongoing one — paintings and ceramics feature across the stores, and her live, interactive art immersion formed Aje’s Resort 20, Chroma, visual experience and Aje’s Spring Summer 21 Modernist campaign exhibited a bespoke Chanel print.
‘Working with Aje over the past couple of years on previous collections has always been something that has expanded the scope of my day-to-day studio practice; it has pushed me to see and conceptualise things differently in a very welcomed manner,’ Chanel says.
However, for the artist, this new collection held a ‘dreamlike’ aspect, with the process feeling immersive and electric. ‘I was provided with so much freedom and trust that the drawings really generated their own type of energy,’ Chanel reveals. ‘The brief was beautiful and seductive, making way for endless image conjuring… In hindsight, I see that I was hungry for superabundance and an encouraged calm carefreeness.’
‘Out of all the initial drawings that I made, one of the very first ones that came out felt as though it both matched and brought a wonder to the brief. It was this drawing that would ultimately become the final print,’ says Chanel Tobler. Photo: Myles Kalus
‘[It] was about conjuring a rich succulent summer in places that have been far to reach for some time now. Importance was placed on colours that looked as though you could consume or be completely immersed by them,’ says Chanel Tobler. Photo: Myles Kalus
“I imagined being taken by food and people and the rich beauty of the fullness of the warmer months of the year — that effervescence that can be felt when things come together in a single place and time.”
Chanel Tobler’s practice is predominately drawing-based and she continued this stylistic approach for Provenance. Photo: Myles Kalus
Chanel Tobler’s print appears across five statement styles, including asymmetrical skirts and feminine dresses boasting curved cut outs, mirroring the artwork’s free-flowing lines. Photo: Myles Kalus
‘The feeling of ease, freedom, and carelessness in the most beautiful and elegant of ways’ – is reflected in the artwork. Photo: Myles Kalus
‘I imagined sitting at a lunch table in the courtyard of La Colombe d’Or, the air warm, the vibrancy of the everything alive, the intensity of being taken by the moment, and the relishing of a meal so delicious everything feels at once content,’ says Chanel Tobler. Photo: Myles Kalus
Within the brief, Aje referenced La Colombe d’Or, an artist sanctuary/hotel/café in the South of France that has brought together artists — such as Picasso, Matisse, and Miró — since the 1920s. Today the walls are adorned with this art history, evocative of summer memories with creative people, coming together in the stone courtyard or by the iconic turquoise pool.
‘The brief opened the door to imagining rich and expansive conversations, eclectic characters, hot summers, long lunches, ripe fruit, perfumed flowers, art, so much art, respite in the shade of a tree in the height of the day. I imagined just being, being without hurry, without urgency,’ Chanel muses.
As Chanel’s practice is predominately drawing-based, she continued this stylistic approach for Provenance, using raw pigment and pastel to create a soft base, and then applying thick, soft blocks of colour with expressive marks layered over. ‘My initial drawings are always small, roughly a3, quick and energetic, always done with pastel and pencil, trying to capture or conjure the feeling of right,’ the artist adds.
It was one of the first drawings she made that was translated into the print. The process continued into large scale where Chanel was able to explore the subtleties, adding more vibrancy and energy with pigment. ‘It is at once soft, intense and welcoming, all qualities that I find working with pastel on paper has, which is why I gravitate to it so much in my personal work and did again for this piece,’ she says.
Chanel’s print appears across five statement styles, including asymmetrical skirts and feminine dresses boasting curved cut outs, mirroring the artwork’s free-flowing lines. Launching today (29th June), Provenance is available online and across the 23 Aje stores in Australia and New Zealand.
