SS24 Castart: Grasping a carefree illusion

The world's most popular pool paint is goes by the name 'tropical turquoise'. And if needed, we’ll add an extra dose of chloride to ensure we maintain that perfect light-blue colour. Sun rays, palm trees, a refreshing breeze. When British painter David Hockney created the painting 'Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)' in California, 1972, he probably had no idea that he would forever define the atmosphere of the swimming pool.

When Hockney moved to sunny California from a northern English working-class family-home in 1964, the aquamarine patches were the first thing he spotted from the airplane-window. Digging deeper, it was the socio-economic significance to it that intrigued him. But initially, it was simply the bright, shimmering blue colour that caught his eye. Later on in his artistic career, this became his most striking asset: his eye for colour. And this is equally what inspired us for our latest SS24 collection.

The pools Hockney painted symbolize carefreeness. Yet there is more than meets the eye. It is easy to love the colourful simplicity of David Hockney’s work but grasping the deeper, socioeconomic meaning is trickier. For us, having a fashion-brand within the current time frame can be compared to this. There are many ecological and social matters that we ponder upon throughout the design process as we consciously think about what we want to stand for and the goals we want to pursue. However the final products still have a spontaneous spirit to them - in that similar spontaneous way that Hockney's characters dart through the water in his paintings.

Those who look closely will find the hidden messages of David Hockney. Nevertheless, they are only suggestive. Some will catch the message, but this is no certainty. This is very particular to Hockney: he remains playful in the way he articulates himself - and because he deliberately leaves parts to our imagination, his message is even stronger. This resonates greatly for Castart. We tend to design the kind of clothing that stands out, but not because of our imposing nature. We do not aim to be heard by all. We want to stand out because of quality, sober yet thoughtful designs and bold use of color. It is a much more lasting way of standing out. Ever since our first collection, almost six years ago now, we have been designing clothes that will not only catch your eye, but will also linger on - as there is more to it than just a bright colour.

For our SS24 collection, after examining Hockney's oeuvre, we sat down at our design table in Antwerp, exchanged ideas and scribbled our imagination on paper. Very free, at times impractical but an ideal place to start from. We narrowed down designs to make them functional: illustrations on t-shirts, unisex all-weather jackets, knits with multicoloured body and sleeve and our first swim-shorts with contrasting stitching for men. We took colour-blocking very serious and tested countless combinations. For the SS24 collection, we aimed for wearable yet distinctive pieces. As for the fabrics, we wanted everything to feel natural and breezy: ripstop, seersucker and - with Californian sixties in mind, it could hardly be otherwise - terry cloth. It turned out to be a collection where there is, just like David Hockney’s work, more than meets the eye: and in our case, too, this implies details and finishing touches.