Alex Katz - Cultural Tie

Cultural Ties – a celebration of cultural diversity, was a global project and the brain child of London art dealer Kapil Jariwala. The brief was for 77 artists from around the world to design neck ties. A limited edition of 300 of each tie were produced for sale worldwide via selected retail outlets, gallery shops and the internet.

It was hoped that the project would raise $1 million for UNICEF, in particular for their clean water programme. The Italian firm Ratti, a major producer of fine textiles for the fashion world, was chosen and the artists’ designs were transformed into shimmering, sensual velvets, taffeta and densely woven jacquard.