City News

Five of the world’s most famous fashion icons including Lee Alexander McQueen and Vivienne Westwood are being immortalised in aerosol by renowned graffiti artist, Temper for a brand new outdoor exhibition.

The collection, ‘Cut From A Different Cloth’ is being unveiled in Birmingham city centre on 30th June, as part of a commission by Retail Birmingham. The collection celebrates the world’s most famous fashion icons including Lee Alexandra McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Paul Smith, Tom Ford and Coco Chanel and will be in place for three months throughout the summer.

The images will be exhibited in Birmingham’s busiest footfall area, attracting up to 5,000 people an hour.

Temper, whose real name is Arron Bird, has been working as a graffiti artist since the early 1990s and has created commissions for some of the world’s most recognisable names including Coca Cola, designs for 100 million Sprite cans and artwork for Chelsea FC’s billionaire owner Roman Abramovich.

A sixth portrait will be completed over the summer following a public poll at www.stylebirmingham.com, where visitors are encouraged to vote for their favourite fashion designer of all time which will then be painted by Temper.

Temper said:
“The fashion world influences so many people globally and the chosen designers in the collection have created great art for people to wear, which expresses so many personalities over the world. I personally am inspired by their discipline, creativity, focus and longevity. It was a great honour to be commissioned by Retail Birmingham and their vision to create an open and free exhibition for the people of Birmingham is really something, and gives people the chance to see my works in a new way outside of the traditional gallery space.”

Alan Chatham, Chair of Retail Birmingham said:
“Temper is one of Birmingham’s brightest young talents and we are pleased that he has accepted this commission to celebrate Birmingham’s love of style and fashion. We hope people make the most of this rare opportunity to see Temper’s stunning work on display throughout the summer and in the lead up to Style Birmingham Live, which promises to be another fantastic event for the city”.