However, one Horsham woman has spent countless hours ‘rebooting’ a jewellery brand’s Spring/Summer campaign, which will be displayed in a prestigious Bond Street store during London Fashion week from February 17 to 22. Born in Ireland and partly raised in Denmark, Inge Jacobsen, aged 24, moved to Horsham in 1999 with her Irish mother and Danish father. She has created a range of cross-stitch magazine covers and was spotted by Danish jewellery designer Georg Jensen. The luxury designer brand asked if Inge would ‘reboot’ the latest campaign featuring Danish model Freja Beha Erichsen. Inge, of North Heath Lane, was taught stitching while at school in Denmark, but it was not until she started a photography degree at Kingston University that she took up the needle and thread again. She said: “It was overwhelming to be surrounded by so many other creative individuals all trying to explore our ideas in unique ways. “I wanted to move away from more conventional mediums like painting and began using thread instead. “I felt it was a great way to intervene into images surrounding me.” The former College of Richard Collyer student created a selection of Vogue front covers as part of her degree, using the covers as a pattern for her cross-stitch. These designs ended up on the fashion magazine’s website. It was here that jewellery designer Georg Jensen saw her work. “Being half Danish made it all the better because Georg Jensen is an important part of Danish design and culture,” Inge said. The campaign took 2,000 hours to complete, however, Inge did get some help from some ‘skilled associates’ and the Royal School of Needlework at Hampton Court Palace. “I was starting to struggle with the four large images, which were 180cm by 120cm, and had an unbelievable short deadline and had already completed four 40cm by 48cm pieces,” she said. The piece is the largest commission Inge has ever had and the longest she has ever had to stitch. “It was seven days a week for three months. My fingers were very tired at the end of it. It also used a very large amount of thread,” she said. Inge uses cross-stitch, one of the oldest forms of embroidery, in which ‘x’ shaped stitches are used in a tiled, rectangular grid of pixels to create a picture. Her inspiration for first using Vogue front covers was due to the fact she wanted a way to ‘intervene into the images’. She considers the front covers ‘some of the most beautiful fashion covers’. She added: “The idea of using thread and physically intervening into the image made my Vogue unique. “These cannot be duplicated; they are all done by hand in order to remove that mass-produced aura surrounding the covers.” Depending on how much detail there is they can take between 20 to 40 hours to complete. Looking at future projects Inge is focusing on her own work, which she is hoping to exhibit in London. The original Georg Jensen pieces can be seen at the Bond Street store during London Fashion week, after that there will be printed versions of them in the store. For more information on Inge and her work visit her website: www.ingejacobsen.com.
