Ian Garlant
Born 1962, England
Ian Garlant works from a studio in Norway at the base of a fjord where the natural environment plays an intrinsic role in his creative practice. Garlant has deployed his vision and rigorous aesthetic throughout a distinguished international career with leading couture and fashion houses for over 20 years with clients including Her Majesty the Queen and exhibitions of his design work shown at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Noted talent scout and collector, Kay Saatchi has been instrumental in bringing Garlant’s works of art to a London audience. Spring 2010 includes a solo exhibition at the London Norwegian Ambassador’s Residence and a solo pop-up exhibition entitled, UnEarth curated by Kay Saatchi and Meredith Gunderson. To view a slideshow of the exhibition and opening night click HERE.
Press
The Times March 2008
CV – Fashion and Fine Art
Ian was born in 1962 to an English father and a Norwegian mother. His childhood was spent between London, Hertfordshire and Norway. At the age of seven he was sent to begin his education at Cheam School, It was there that Ian’s love of drawing developed and soon became a passion.
In 1975 aged thirteen Ian was accepted at Marlborough College, where he was awarded the Art Scholarship. He entered Kingston University in 1980, initially as a foundation student then chose to pursue fashion. Whist earning a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Fashion Design Ian received a number of awards including The Rider Shoe Design Award, the Saga Fur Design Award, The Limonta Rainwear Award and a bursary from The Royal Society of Arts.
Following his BA, Ian was recruited to work in New York at Gear Inc. and Sears Roebuck as a designer of sportswear and accessories. At this time he also worked as a Freelance Designer for Willy Smith of WilliWear and designed costumes for an off Broadway recreation of The Cotton Club.
Ian returned home to England in the mid 80’s to take up a post as a studio assistant at Hardy Amies Ltd whilst also undertaking freelance design contracts in Italy. In 1987 Ian was made personal assistant to Sir Hardy Amies and in 1990 the Menswear Designer followed by an appointment as Menswear Design Director in 1992. A high profile global role for both private clients and large manufacturers
In 1999 he was invited to Moscow to design costumes for a ballet written for the Bolshoi by Alexei Rybnikov as part of their millenium celebrations. Early in 2001, Ian was approached by Aquascutum Ltd to work as part of the menswear division of the company and ultimately became Head of Design/Menswear at Aquascutum showing two full collections at Pitti Uomo, Florence.
In 2002 after Ian’s departure Hardy Amies sold his business at which point the new owners invited Ian back to take up the position of Creative Director. He redesign the interior of the House, its logo and packaging, and designed and complete wardrobe for Her Majesty the Queen’s state visit to Canada at the end of the Golden Jubilee celebrations.
Ian’s first full Couture Collection was for Spring 2003 and in June 2003 the Autumn/ Winter collection was shown at London’s Royal Academy of Arts. The Spring 2004 collection was shown first in London then taken to Shanghai where it became the first Couture Collection to be shown in The People’s Republic of China.
In 2005 Ian created the first perfume for the House since 1948 to wide acclaim resulting in an exclusive distribution contract through Space NK stores. In 2006 Ian’s Autumn /Winter collection was awarded a series of shows by the Victoria & Albert Museum in recognition his unique position in Fashion. During 2007 the company began to produce women’s ready to wear clothing, manufactured and sold out the House for the first time in 30 years.
Throughout his career in fashion Ian has been making sculptural paintings and drawings inspired by the Norwegian landscape and extreme sense of place of Hardanger fjord. Since 1995 he has been working on a specific body of work experimenting with asphalt, local materials to the fjord and working within the landscape.
2008 marks Ian’s departure from the world of fashion. He took up residence full time on Hardanger fjord in 2009. He is now primarily based in Hardanger where he pursues his vocation as an artist full-time. In 2009 noted collector Kay Saatchi became involved in Ian’s work and instrumental in bringing his work to a London audience in partnership with Meredith Gunderson.
Spring of 2010 includes a solo Pop-Up exhibition in London curated by Saatchi and Gunderson as well as a solo exhibition in Norway. The London Pop-Up is in association with the Royal Norwegian Embassy with a private viewing of a portion of the exhibition at the Ambassador’s Residence.