This drawing is a design for a man's sweater. It was made by Patrick Caulfield in 1972 for the knitwear label Ritva which was established in 1966 by Mike and Ritva Ross. Caulfield was one of several of their friends and acquaintances approached to design limited ‘artists’ edition’ sweaters in the early seventies. Others included David Hockney and Allen Jones.

Caulfield referred to his 1972 design as the ’Manly Sweater‘. The shoulders and elbows had leather patches and a leather pipe stuck out of the breast pocket. A design for the pocket motif is also in the collection (Museum no. E.414-2005). An ironic take on 1950s’ masculinity, the drawing has annotations explaining exactly what the design features were supposed to represent — the black leather for ’forthrightness/determination‘, for example.

The sweater was eventually produced in two colours: white and green. Each had a unique label signed by the artist. In 2000, the V&A acquired one of the 25 or so sweaters made to Caulfield's design. The sweater and the drawings together, comprise a useful document of fashion history, uniting first designs and finished article.