Pauper Voile
A Portland photographer’s line of hand-printed silk scarves
After realizing scarves by covetable designers such as Alexander McQueen or Hermes were out of reach, Portland-based photographer Jason Kinney decided to apply his medium to silk. Pauper Voile is the upshot, with Kinney explaining that his interest in scarves made him “curious about how to put an image on fabric.” Starting out with wood-block prints before teaching himself how to screen print, he refined his skill to an obsessive degree for a line of scarves that exude Gothic sophistication.
Sourcing his textiles in Portland, Kinney dyes the swaths of 70% silk-30% cotton fabric before printing using handmade screens, often painting or stamping additional details on by hand. His designs draw inspiration from classical sources as well as the runway. For example, he based the “Cathedral Rose Window”; scarf on a medieval architectural drawing of Strasbourg Cathedral, while “The Sail” design is composed of elements from Victorian paintings and an old photograph of a sailor in profile.
Pauper Voile scarves start at $160 and sell online at Frances May. To see more of Kinney’s photography, check out his website.
