Biography
Benjamin Shine is a multidisciplinary British artist who has gained recognition in the fashion industry for his creations made from lengths of tulle — a practice which he describes as “painting with fabric”. Shine has worked internationally on installations, and designed clothing, furniture and public artworks. His unique tulle designs have racked up a coterie of collaborators, including Givenchy, Google, Harrods, MTV and Coca-Cola.
Shine was educated in fashion design at the Surrey Institute of Art and at Central Saint Martins , before establishing his creative studio in 2003. In 2012, he collaborated with Riccardo Tisci during his tenure at Givenchy, where they created three pieces featuring his tulle work on sportswear pieces. His works have been exhibited at the London Design Museum, the British Crafts council and the New York Museum of Arts and Design.
His collaboration with John Galliano for Maison Margiela Artisanal Spring 2017 collection captured the attention of the fashion industry, with his depiction of a woman’s face wrapped around a trench coat. Inspired by tulle’s departure from its functional role as the lining of the coat into a smoky, ethereal image, Shine notably gained recognition for his Margiela coat at the artisanal 2017 Paris Couture Fashion Week show.
In July 2017, Shine was commissioned by Bergdorf Goodman to create “Seeing Through the Material”, an exhibition of five faces for the store’s windows — each using up to 15 metres of tulle. The sculptures took between 50 and 100 hours to construct, layering and manipulating the fabric to form an image. They acted as a backdrop to designs by Valentino, Fendi and Christian Louboutin .
In 2004, Shine received the Enterprising Young Brit Award and later, the Courvoisier Future 500 Art & Design Award.