Italiano

Painter, Gardener, Furnisher, Chef, Performer, and Designer:
George Kenneth Scott - aka Ken Scott - was this and much more.

the book

Why write a book about Ken Scott? Anyone who did not know the man and his exuberant creativity might ask themselves this question. A book that represents his artistic and stylistic trajectory seemed to be an appropriate contribution to knowing about him and preserving his work in the history of fashion, but not just that. His great passion for nature allowed him to envisage as a designer the evolution of Italian prêt-à-porter, which was coming into being at that very moment: like the person who, from a flower that buds and blooms, can predict with which form it will color his days.

He was a visionary and a realist who foresaw, when no one had tried to as yet, the “total look,” including furnishings and objects. If we think back to the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, when there were still very few players in the fashion world, we cannot help but express wonder at what Ken Scott imagined and produced before anyone else. Even a restaurant!. This publication is a precious guide to appreciating his genius and has been possible thanks to the expertise of Rizzoli and the precious collaboration with authors and photographers and the invaluable support of Ken Scott Foundation.

bio

bio

Born in 1918 in Indiana - USA, Scott showed a strong passion for painting at a young age, and this led him to study in New York. These were intense and fertile years of success and experimentation. Following his free and curious spirit, he moved to Europe in 1946. First to Paris and the French Riviera, where Scott led a bohemian life, and arriving in Milan in 1955. And it was here that Scott founded the Falconetto brand.

Starting from textiles, the artist revolutionised the style of that time. Bright and sunny colours, unpredictable combinations, and joyful flowers became his "trademark." Since 1962 he signed collections of clothes and accessories making him internationally renowned. Scott’s rise was unstoppable, his production varied, and his research and method were avant-garde. His unbridled imagination and his inherent irony was accompanied by extraordinary technical skills and his most diverse creations were undeniably immortal.

the artist

At the prestigious Parson School in New York Scott learned much but that cultured and snobbish environment soon became constrictive and after three years he arrived at Moses Soyer, a school committed to "social realism." A great admirer of Paul Klee, who he considered his master, Scott met Matta, Chagall, Rothko in William Hayter's engraving atelier. In 1946, Peggy Guggenheim, with whom he remained close for the rest of his life, organised a painting exhibition for Scott in New York.

Among the various works during the American years, there were shop windows and backdrops for photographers, floral decorations and finally fabric design. Scott’s pictorial talent became his true "craft" along with his other many passions. Scott's style was free, hungry for innocent colour, primary and almost childish if the word is seen as meaning "pure." His works are reminiscent of Boetti and Warhol but the pop inspiration of Scott’s paintings (mainly flowers) is mixed with enchanting colours and shades – a cheerful and ironic touch which becomes a personal leitmotif.

fashion designer

fashion designer

"One day I started designing fabrics; that was the end of my painting career". This is the synthesis of a love story: Scott chose Milan - the capital of Italian Fashion, as his base because of its proximity to the Como textile district. Famous as a fabric designer, with a special talent for colours and capable of creating a real style revolution, Scott combined great technical skills with creativity.

He was the first to print his designs on artificial and new fabrics, inventing an "easy-to-use" fashion that could be washed by hand, dried quickly, did not need to be ironed and could be packed in a suitcase. A chic version of flower power, Scott preferred quite simple and straight lines for his garments, to enhance and balance the printing exuberance.

shows

Ken Scott fashion designer revealed his trendsetting skills in a striking way. His fashion shows were amazing. In the ‘60s his models moved under a circus tent dressed in clothes inspired by zebras, leopards and giraffes. These were exciting years and Ken Scott took care of every aspect of his events: moods, sets, choreography, accessories, and invitations.

There were events in Sala Bianca, Palazzo Pitti dedicated to "historical lovers," in Palazzetto dello Sport in Rome, Appia Antica’s Circo Medini, where Scott improvised as a tamer, Piper in Rome, where he developed the food theme in partnership with Findus. Each event reveals an unforgettable histrionic temperament and extraordinary creative spirit

celebrities

The famous fashion chronicler Eugenia Sheppard in 1967 wrote: "No famous international wardrobe nowadays is complete without a touch of Ken Scott.” This was proven by Ken Scott's clothes and patterns on actresses, socialites, marquis and princesses, Italian and foreign celebrities such as Audrey Hepburn, Monica Vitti, Brigitte Bardot, Mina, Jackie Kennedy, Marella Agnelli, Violante Visconti,

Agnese Torlonia, Marisa Berenson, Twiggy, Verushka, Amanda Lear, Capucine, Benedetta Barzini and many others. Ken Scott's flowers, colours, free fashion blossom with his refined cheerfulness, his laid-back practicality and original simplicity, which conquered the world.

food mood

Eats & Drinks is the restaurant that Scott opened in Milan in 1969. He designed everything, including tiles, forks, glasses, stools, plates and lamps in a practical demonstration of his unbridled applied art. Able to unconsciously anticipate the food mood explosion of the following decades, Ken Scott created a true monument to palate elegance.

His food passion was celebrated with his "gastronomic" SS 70 collection with watermelon dresses and prints of giant rigatoni, Swiss cheese, fried eggs and free-range chickens in a style between Dada and Pop.

the gardens

In 1979, during an interview, Ken Scott called himself a "gardener." For him plants and flowers represented the intrinsic essence of beauty. "Fashion Gardener" is the definition used by others to describe his amazing ability to plant and grow colourful flowers and fantastic gardens on fabric. Scott had an innate talent for decorating with greenery. Proof of this is the Milan courtyard transformed into a spectacular roof garden,

the tropical garden of the house in Cuernavaca full of tall trees where orchids cling and then palms, agaves, hibiscus, bougainvillea, roses and lemons among shady arcades and sunny terraces, and his most beloved garden, in his house in Èze on the French Riviera. Two small terraces were transformed into a lush Eden where fruit trees and flowers mix and explode as if in a sort of permanent nursery, which he lovingly cared for and where he abstracted himself from everything.

the houses

Scott’s houses were Spartan in their simplicity, with square and rational furnishings, but enriched with reflective surfaces that multiplied light and space, or covered with his flowery tiles or printed fabrics, which immediately added colour and warmth to the environment.

The inside and outside communicating with the main colour. Houses photographed in the most prestigious magazines, forerunners of what we today define as lifestyle.

inkiostro bianco

The Ken Scott Unconventional Collection was born to celebrate the transformative power of interior design. Inkiostro Bianco and Ken Scott share a common desire: to create spaces that reflect the personality and spirit of their inhabitants.

The gaze that led this selection of artistic designs deliberately sought an unconventional image—one that steps outside of what is expected within a space, and especially of what one expects when hearing about Ken Scott. The desire is to give the walls that will accommodate these decorations new forms, spaces, and colors. The static nature of the wall surface is interrupted, overcome, and transformed by subjects capable of breaking all rules.

What is usually a frame apt to accommodate the scene that represents the furniture becomes an integral part of the picture created by the designer in the environment. An unconventional place, endowed with a decisive, cheerful, rhythmic character. A welcoming and engaging space, an invitation to step out of ordinary thinking.

The eye gets lost as the boundaries—often too narrow—are expanded, broadening the space and the inhabitant’s perception. Ken Scott Unconventional is not just a collection, but a bold visual experience designed to amaze and leave a mark. It is a journey between interior design and fashion, a celebration of an unmistakable and unconventional style.

www.inkiostrobianco.com

carpet edition

Carpet Edition and Ken Scott, together, to create a collection of tapestries and rugs inspired by the iconic works of the famous designer. A unique experience for the design world to mesh two creative worlds in an incredible collaboration: 33 tapestries and shaped rugs, all in New Zealand wool, Tencel and linen, make up the Ken Scott Collection.

Recalling Ken Scott's most legendary creations, Carpet Edition has managed to transform the American designer's visions into authentic masterpieces for interior design, giving life to a collection that masterfully blends the elegance and vivacity of his works with the functionality and aesthetics of fabrics for interiors

carpetedition.com

gabel

An unprecedented collection for the home

Ken Scott’s patterns, which retain the names originally coined by the artist, take new life in this new collection produced and distributed by Gabel: a proposal made of disruptive colors, energy and originality for all the rooms of the house.

The collection comes from a careful and meticulous selection from thousands of drawings.

Discover the colletion on gabel.com

 

Bed - the bedroom is dressed in flowers, leaves and geometries with a strong personality. Refined handmade finishes combine prints,colors and patterns.

Living - a disruptive collection made of vibrant colors to decorate the living area with unique prints.

Table and kitchen - between practicality and style, fashion is served! It is the perfect scene for a colorful and refined mise en place.

Bathroom and fouta - a wide selection of towels and bathrobes with iconic patterns that combine functionality and beauty... and for the sea not to be missed the Fouta beach towel.

the foundation

In 2019 Mantero acquired the Ken Scott brand and transferred the immense collection of its grandiose archive to its HQ in Grandate, a short distance from Como. The Ken Scott Foundation meticulously preserved and sorted this collection at the artist's death and granted it exclusively to the company. Mantero is registered in the register of Historic Companies and is a high-end textile sector leader. It is a new, spacious and bright space that becomes magically cheerful and "pop" with its collection of more than 8,000 original designs made by the artist - 2,000 unreleased -. The designs multiply into fabric swatches, test papers and colour variant folders, more than 500 framed elements and paintings, more than 1,000 extraordinary garments, scarves, fabrics, fancy bijoux, bags, eyewear, shoes, furniture that mixes printed textile coverings with the design of famous starchitects, personal objects, documents, invitations, magazines, advertising and different mementoes. 

This precious, beautiful corpus celebrates colour to create an exciting revelation. Every single element contains an explosive charge and arouses a feeling of admiration for the genius and inexhaustible creativity of the "man of flowers."

An important part of Ken Scott legacy, mainly creation related to the food mood, is shown at La Pila, a warehouse originally dedicated to rice storage, build in XVII century. The fascinating complex is part of the important Visconteo Castle of Sartirana in the Lomellina region, open to the public with a large exibition of framed scarves.

get in
touch Ken Scott is a Brand of Mantero
info@mantero.com