AWMS x AUBIN
My name is Anthony Sylvester. I am a writer, musician, and owner of a small brand AWMS, based in the Kentish coast town of Ramsgate. I work to produce limited runs of clothing often based around cultural themes, taking inspiration from artists, architects, musicians and creators from across the past century. I also co-run MADSEN SYLVESTER STUDIO - a space which hosts the label's operations alongside the curatorial practice of my wife Dr Cyana Madsen and
our shared creative consultancy.
When Aubin approached me about collaborating on a project together, it was easy to settle on a subject that resonated with both our fields of expertise and interest. Working within the broader seasonal direction that Aubin planned for the spring and summer of 2026, we set out creating a small capsule collection of three waxed cotton practical items made in England with Yarmouth Oilskins, delving into British and Irish gardening heritage and its cross pollination with the world
of Modern Art.
The trio of items are dedicated to characters who had a profound effect on the way we perceive gardening as a practice and a pastime in the British Isles. Taking inspiration from the idea of horticulture as a creative process we have manufactured useful tools for toil and artistry in hardy cloths that will last and age.
Firstly we have William Robinson, considered the 'father' of the English Cottage Garden. His 1870 book "The Wild Garden' railed against the artificiality of manicured lawns and Italianate greenhouses, espousing a more robust and hands off approach favouring dense plantings of local hardy plants, herbaceous borders, shrubs and rock gardens. His work is often viewed in the same light as the Arts & Crafts movement in its appreciation of practical simplicity.
The English post Impressionist painter Cedric Morris was a contemporary of Paul Nash and Ben Nicholson, and founder of the East Anglian School Of Painting. He was also a keen horticulturist, researching and collecting plants from around the world, and cultivating over 90 varieties of Iris from his beautiful Benton End house, recently transferred into the hands of the Garden Museum for preservation.
Lastly, the artist, filmmaker and activist Derek Jarman, who found solace and motive in raising a garden on the barren rocky desert-like conditions of Dungeness, writing extensively on the subject. After his death, his Prospect Cottage in the shadow of a nuclear power plant remains a haven and creative hub for young artists.
