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EDINBURGH FASHION FESTIVAL
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Robert McCaffrey
Designer of shoes and sunglasses for Dirk Bikkemberqs
‘I am not a fashion designer. I am a designer who does some work in the fashion industry.‘ says 2‘)- year-old Bob McCaffrey. who graduated from the Glasgow School of Art product design course. But whatever he may claim. it's in the world of fashion that his designs have brought him most notoriety to date. Following four years working in Italy with the Belgian designer Dirk Bikkembergs. McCaffrey returned to Glasgow in 2002 to found his current design company. Pavillion (sic). Though it‘s a multi-genre design agency set up with partner Mil Stricevic. Pavillion is now responsible for the design of every shoe in Bikkembergs' collections (pictured. right). So successful have the shoe designs been that McCatfrey has now been commissioned to design a collection of sunglasses for Bikkembergs‘ diffusion line in time for this summer‘s World Cup frenzy [see page 103 for more football
18 THE LIST 13—27 Apr 2006
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fashion]. Perhaps it's healthy that Bob Mc(‘affrey‘s design ambitions go resolutely beyond fashion. ()ne of his most conceptually- based projects is a solar-powered park bench sited in Richmond Park. London. that acts as a tribute to the singer Ian l)ury. A speaker in one arm of the bench plays a compilation of Blockheads songs. while the other plays a recording of an interview with l)ury made before he died. 'lan was a great fan of park benches and this particular spot was one of his favourite places for a day out with family or fricndsf explains Mc(‘affrey. Pavillion has also designed the graphic rebranding of a micro-brewery. and the furniture fora prison visiting room. ‘Barlinnie—group' uses a 'diner' aesthetic. suggesting a level of informality] he says. ‘while a single—unit construction makes the component too heavy to be picked up and used as a weapon'. Firmly rooted in brutal reality as they are. these projects should ensure that McCaffrey doesn't lose the tough edge that currently makes his designs so interesting to fashion‘s fickle opinion-formers.