This season we decided to experiment with screen printing. Our source of inspiration for Cardinal, the 1930s women’s magazine Linglong, was full of designs, motfis, and illustrations that excited and intrigued us. One of our favourite designs was the cut-out activity which features in the Pomelo zine.

For Cardinal, we decided to use another of our favourite illustrations in Linglong, an illustrated exercise guide. The illustrated exercise guide featured in Linglong Magazine Volume 1, Issue 25, P927-929, in 1931. The pages below are what inspired us, ans they suggest that readers of Linglong exercises that are easy to do with a busy lifestyle. Inspired by these exercise illustarations, we re-drew them for screen printing, working with screen print specialists in North and South London.

For this project we decided to screen print on to corduroy. We use corduroy from a mill in North West England, and the corduroy we use for these garments is a lightweight 190g 16 Wale Corduroy. We choose this style corduroy for Cardinal as it should be wearable in the summer, being much lighter than the corduroys we use for winter garments. The corduroy comes in three styles, offer as an Overshirt, Balloon Trousers, and Notched Neck Blazer. The Balloon Trousers and Notched Neck Blazer are both lined, while the Overshirt is unlined, making it perfect to be worn on its own or as a light jacket.

As the products are worn, the screen printed designs will naturally evolve and fade over time, giving a new look as the garments age. We’re excited to know what these pieces will look like in one, five, or even ten-years, and we can guarantee that no two pieces will be the same.