Denham: The Art of the Scissor Issue

It all started with a pair of scissors.

For Denham, but also for garment-making in general. Cutting cleanly through cloth with a knife is a tricky business. The breakthrough invention combining two knives on a pivot changed everything.

For us scissors are a metaphor. The shape of Jason's first scissor inspired the Denham logo. They are an obsession, evidenced by Jason's personal collection as well as that of the label's design director, Liam Maher whose combined collection can be seen within the Denham Garment Library. They are as beautiful as bronze Brancusi sculptures and as dangerous as Mack the Knife. They record a shared history. They come from as far back as the Dark Ages up through the Era of Savile Row making pit-stops in the American Civil War as well as rural tailoring workshops in the Middle and Far East.

They are triggers for the artistic process as demonstrated by art director Ali Kirby's seemingly infinite illustrative variations. Grafted together into hybrids he has joined them with chainsaws, sickles and propellers and deconstructed them to create mechanistic mammoths, preying mantises and bald eagles as a 2nd metaphor that represents the brand mantra: "WORSHIP TRADITION . DESTROY CONVENTION".

They link us to our collaborators. Forming the basis of new work from respected artists and designers whose interest in the twin-blades is sharp enough to convince them to play in our sandbox for a time. They are our House Guest Artists.

They are a universal language. They bridge us across cultural boundaries enlivening our dialogs with scissor-wielding artisans from every corner of the globe.

And each season we celebrate them all over again. This time around with seven individual scissor-art tees for men and three for women as well as scarves and custom-commissioned jewelry. The men's graphic range is founded, as-ever, on our signature basic-tee design making it available with or without artwork.