Premiere
General information
14th of December, 2022
Staz Riffel
Staz Riffel combines painting styles of the Renaissance with artists from the modern art era of the 19th and 20th centuries. He gets inspired by the artists of these two periods in different ways for oil painting. Staz explains that during the Renaissance, artists explored norms of aesthetics and forms. However, they had to adhere to a strict canon, which was predominant in the painting guilds of Europe. He celebrates these artists such as Tintoretto, Rembrandt and Caravaggio for pushing these boundaries with their art.
In contrast, the painting masters of Impressionism and Expressionism of the modern times of the 19th and 20th centuries had more freedom. They took this freedom so that they could experiment with shapes, colours and new techniques. Due to these two different principles, Staz appreciates the synthesis between the two periods, and learns from the masters of the time. He describes studying and repainting their art as ‘a connection with the grand master’.
He recently moved from Oxford to Nairobi, Kenya, where he’s building up a social enterprise and working with local artists.
The Polo shirts were manufactured in London
- Fabric: 100% Cotton from Leicester, England
- Collar / Cuffs: 100% Cotton from Leicester, England (fabric material)
- Buttons: 100% Nacre (Corozo) from Snowdania, Wales
- Thread: 100% Tencel from Portugal
- Label print: 100% Cotton from Faversham, England
- Interfacing: 100% Cotton from Germany
- Neck tape: 100% Cotton from Spain
Wash at 30C, gentle drying, no bleach
Production numbers
| Length | |||||
| Short | Standard | Tall | Total | ||
| Size / Width | XS | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| S | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | |
| M | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| L | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| XL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| XXL | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 0 | 5 | 3 | 8 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The artists inspiration
Premiere is our first launch of Polo shirts with art by Staz Riffel. Staz was inspired by the Renaissance painter Caravaggio’s ‘Basket of Fruit’: a still life painting. Caravaggio inspired him with the perspective he has chosen, that is on eye level: an innovative approach at the time. Staz then used an expressionistic approach with the colours and dispersed the fruits, applying the brush strokes expressively, which he perceived as a great opportunity to experience the classical painting through a new lens.