I haven't been as excited about a new design in a while now as I am seeing Hippopolis (City of the Horse). Looking at the artist Ugo Gattoni's previous work, with which I had not been acquainted before, this image is uniquely identifiable to his style - a rich, byzantine story that magically blends animals - horses in this example - in inanimate objects - fantastic structures, scaffolding, terraces to form a dream-like world.
A graduate of EPSAA (the Ecole Professionnelle Supérieure d’Arts Graphiques et d’Architecture) in Paris, Ugo Gattoni is a talented illustrator working for a wide range of publications, creating compositions characterized by his confident line and bubbling imagination, his love of large formats, and minute attention to detail. Perfectly evoking Gattoni’s distinctive world, Hippopolis is a gigantic equestrian monument, an extravagant megalopolis populated by a witty cast of equine characters.
This mythical city, dedicated to the supreme leader - the horse - is (evidently!) inhabited by ... horses ! All around the premises - on the outskirts of this structure, in the gardens, hiding behind columns or seeing them fleetingly behind columns - give the lost traveler a sense of the impressive size of this wonder - if this were built in real life, it would rival easily the seven wonders of the ancient world.
Perhaps it is this curiosity that this scarf triggers in us, that of discovery, of understanding, of exploring - very fitting to this year's theme of flânerie.
Another detail that I love is the colour of the scarf's border - while the design may be monochromatic, the border, whether in bright colour or pastel, complements the scarf beautifully, giving it either a dramatic edge, or fresh life.
With a surreal, deliberately Escher-esque touch, the design conjures a host of curiously-arranged colonnades, not forgetting the iconic Hermès carriage and groom!
Worn, this scarf is brilliant. A definite hit this season !
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