Brand Spotlight : Bow Ties for Patriots by Iggy Fenech

I had the pleasure of meeting Iggy Fenech at a launch party around a month ago, I was already familiar with his writing for di-ve.com; it had impressed me as being of a very high quality. I was happy to find out that he’s also a really nice guy and very easy to strike up a conversation with. It seems like we have shared passions for fashion, books and the general written word…so without much further ado I asked him to be a guest writer on this blog and he’s written a wonderful piece on Maltese designer Sef Farrugia, with a focus on her superb bow ties.

Here is Iggy’s Post in his own words:

Having just moved back to Malta from London, I have to admit that I had missed everything Maltese: the smell of pastizzi, the sound of church bells, the lazy summer days. They are part of our heritage and a part of what binds us as a nation and makes us unique.

When I saw Sef Farruġia’s bow ties, I felt that they had something intrinsically Maltese in them too. They were daring while being subtle; and having been invited to a formal event for a Bulgari launch, I decided to purchase one of these creations.

When I received the bow tie – cordially brought to my house by the designer herself – I was impressed by the texture, the design and the packaging; all of which, I felt were to international standards, so I decided to speak to Sef about what goes into the making of one of her bow ties.

“The bow ties were something that came
naturally. I first started to make silk scarves and needed a product to balance
things out for both genders. I wanted to bring the idea of ‘dressing up’ back
to our times and although they are very much a traditional accessory, they are
not your classic bow ties because of the prints.

“The design took months of research.
Childhood films were my first inspiration and then, equally as affective, were
Edwardian and Victorian interiors. At those times, most things were imported
from north Africa and that is why the print aesthetic is very much
Mediterranean/Arabesque, which is probably why the designs remind people of
Malta.

“The fabric in itself has its own process and
is completely designed by yours truly. I first gather all my inspiration and
research, then I draw out a number of illustrations and take off from there.
The artworks are then digitally manipulated and then sent off to print. I am
also an illustrator, so this is a part of the process that I very much enjoy.

“Once I get the fabric it’s all about
creating the bow tie pattern and cutting out the shapes. These particular bow
ties are very light because they are made from 100 per cent satin silk. I also
wanted to aim at both genders, so their design was carefully thought out to
neither be too stiff nor too flowy.

“The packaging was also designed by myself
and the idea behind it was to have something of an unusual shape but which was
pleasing to the eye and, of course, that complements the products. The
packaging is manufactured here in Malta and and it features one of my prints –
the ‘Morgan’. The print, which is of deer’s horns, is one of the illustrations
that I had made throughout the process of researching for this collection.

“The names I gave the different prints
(‘Morgan’, ’Carson’, etc) took a while to decide upon. I wanted something
particular and I kept looking for ideas but I couldn’t find what I was looking
for exactly. In the end, I decided to name them after unisex British names
which very much complements the inspiration behind the collection and it also
goes very well with the bow ties’ and scarves’ aesthetic.

“We are caught up in a world in which
everything is quick and unthought of, and it is a shame that we don’t take
inspiration from the olden days when no one would step out of their own home
without being properly dressed. I hope that my products help people visualise
and move into the direction of trying to at least make an effort to bring those
golden days back.

“I believe that things like scarves and bow
ties are timeless, and that they can be worn today and in five years’ time. I
am all in favour of careful buying and ditching the idea of a society which
consumes and disposes without any sense of direction.

“Of course my brand is very much at the
beginning, so anything can happen. It takes a huge amount of investment and
effort to get a product done from start to finish and so bit by bit the product
range will start expanding and maybe I’ll get to tap into different markets.”