Matthew Williamson is teaming up with Dulux for the new initiative
Matthew Williamson is best known for his use of colour and dressing the A-List, like his close friend Sienna Miller, but now he's turning his hand to exteriors for the first time.
The designer is helping to launch a UK-wide community regeneration project, Let's Colour.
The celebrated designer donated a striking rainbow design, originally developed for his Summer collection in 2005, to the first of over 200 projects set to happen over the next year as part of the Let’s Colour movement.
The Dulux initiative, which aims to turn grey areas into colourful communities, has already transformed run down communities all over the world, from Rio De Janeiro to Paris, and the Ravensbourne Community Centre in South East London became the first UK project to be transformed from grey to great with the Matthew Williamson design.
As a designer renowned for his use of colour and pattern, Williamson was the ideal choice to help launch Let’s Colour in the UK, and was invited to work to a brief of improving people's lives through colour. He comments: “I’m continually inspired by nature and the rainbow is one of nature’s greatest optical phenomenons. The sighting of a rainbow never fails to bring a smile to people’s faces. They signify optimism and positivity: with them comes the sunshine after the rain.”
Williamson is excited to see his print on a building for the first time: “I’ve only ever used this print as a small-scale repeat on diaphanous silk dresses so I’m very excited to see it translated on to such a large building. I like the juxtaposition of the urban brick building against the brightly coloured rainbows.”
Dulux is donating £1m in funding to positively colour one million lives by 2020 through the Let’s Colour project. It has already brought colour to the streets of India and France and the favelas of Brazil, inspiring people to reclaim their surroundings and regenerate them with a splash of colour. Working hand in hand with community regeneration charity, Groundwork, over 200 projects will be completed around the UK this year, using 60,000 litres of paint and positively impacting the lives of over 350,000 people.
The public can nominate projects, from housing estates to school frontages, to be transformed with colour by visiting www.letscolour.co.uk. Projects nationwide will be selected based on the level of positive emotional and physical change it will bring to people’s lives.
Letty Edwards, UK Marketing Director of Dulux, says: “As part of our global mission to add colour to people’s lives, we believe that by transforming grey spaces we can make a real difference to communities, both physically and metaphorically. Our aim is to create brighter futures by calling on people to make a tangible difference to the place in which they live and work, and leave behind a legacy that will continue to motivate and inspire many others for years to come.”
Let's Colour welcomes project nominations from community groups, charities and individuals who have the desire and determination to make a real difference. To find out more or get involved go to www.letscolour.co.uk.
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