'Dalgish' jumper, merino wool, Atelier E.B. 2015. Constructed by EMB Knitwear, Scotland, the intarsia produced by George Gray, Scotland.

Black jumper with white neck and wrist bands,made to resemble a football jersey. Pixellated logo on breast in red, yellow and blue

© Atelier E.B.

Atelier E.B (Edinburgh Brussels) is the company name under which the designer Beca Lipscombe and the artist Lucy McKenzie sign their collaborative projects. Based between Edinburgh and Brussels, their work blends historical research, design and art, creating fashion collections, commissioned displays and interiors, textiles and publications. McKenzie studied Art at University of Dundee's Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, and Lipscombe studied Fashion/Print at Central Saint Martins, London. They formed Atelier E.B in 2007 and since 2011 the pair have operated as a fashion label which, where possible, uses local production methods in Scotland and Belgium; and also focuses on alternative forms of distribution and display. Lipscombe and McKenzie place art and design on an equal footing, applying methodologies from both spheres.

"Atelier E.B. reimagines football shirts in cashmere and merino, their badges pixelated into abstraction. These will later be translated into intarsia crests, handmade by the last remaining proprietors of the skill: what Scotland has lost from its ravaged industry is reinstated by the company, who deftly manipulate contemporary art's ability to shapeshift, positioning artisanal skill at the forefront of Scotland's burgeoning visual arts trade."

- Linsey Young, The Inventors of Tradition II publication, 2015.

"The inspiration behind Dalgish Jumper came from the footballer Kenny Dalgish, who was Scotland's most successful player. Examined from a feminist viewpoint, archival research allows Atelier E.B. to reveal hidden histories, especially the stories of marginalised women. The jumper is not merely a passing nod to the habits of women for borrowing items of their boyfriend's clothes. Atelier E.B. has made clear that the design and reference to sports clothing in their work is concerned with its emancipatory qualities and the rise of sports formerly derided or suppressed by men such as women's football, effectively banned in 1921, the Football Association stating 'the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged'. This repression was not lifted for 50 years, after which the sport struggled for acceptance and finance."

- Andrew Demetrius, The Harry and Margery Boswell Collection publication, 2020.

T.8-2023