Insects seem to be everywhere lately. Discerning gourmets have willingly started nibbling on them; environmentalists found their panacea to a cleaner and more efficient way of eating – low impact on food production, happier planet. Meanwhile, artists and designers have increasingly featured bugs in their works, especially in the last few years.
Most notably Damian Hirst who made collages of dead insects laid out in mandala inspired patterns, as well as his recurrent theme on butterflies.
This trend has also been the main element in few of Alexander McQueen collections. Yet this is not a novelty. Insects have always been admired as well as feared. The scarab beetle, symbol of rebirth, was declined as precious amulets and seals in Egyptian times. Bugs, crickets and butterflies were always the living touch in the Dutch still life paintings of the 17th century.
In terms of gastronomy, insects have always been on the menu in South East Asia, and Aristotle famously provided detailed instructions on how to consume cicadas. These weird small animals always had the power of fascination, perhaps because of their shape and structure for some, or their unusual jewel like colours for others – the oily sheen of the beetle, the bright green of a praying mantis, the dotted scarlet of a ladybird.
Insects have always been featured in Coco’s illustrations.
The Forget Me Not range of scarves and pillows is also a magical bestiary of scarabs, butterflies, and bugs of all sorts.
Loosely wrapped around our necks these scarves are the new sartorial talismans.