Tommy Bahama Taps Artist-Photographer Alexandra Penney for Artist Series

Tommy Bahama has long championed artists, both in-house and at large. Each spring, the Seattle-based brand collaborates with artists for its annual Artist Series collection. This time around, the company selected New York-based Alexandra Penney, who is known for her digitally manipulated watercolors of flowers.

So it’s no surprise that the artist, photographer and journalist designed fabrics based on her work, titled Penney Blooms, and they were used on five exclusive Tommy Bahama sportswear and swimwear pieces.

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The Penney Blooms print was inspired by flowers from a tiny neighborhood shop that Penney arranged and photographed in her studio, then digitally merged with one of her abstract watercolors.

“I’ve had the honor of watching Alexandra and her art over the last 20 years and have been inspired by its raw beauty and bold colors,” said Bradley O’Brien executive vice president of product design and development at Tommy Bahama. “Her love of flowers, and our love of anything tropical made this partnership purposeful and beautiful. The results are truly stunning.”

The collection includes the four women’s pieces: a sequin Penney Blooms shell that features an allover digital print, sequined embellishment and a gold TB logo bamboo shank button on the back. There’s also a silk short dress with a fabric sash and side-seam pockets along with a twist high neck one-piece swimsuit and a belted caftan. For men, the print was used on the brand’s signature camp shirt in silk with an embroidered signature at the hem.

The Alexandra Penney collection will be available on the brand’s website and in its stores beginning April 3. Prices range from $138 for the shell and $158 for the camp shirt to $250 for the silk dress.
In addition to working with outside artists, Tommy Bahama employs an in-house art department and team of creatives to develop original artwork for its sportswear, accessories and home collections.

“Our art department has quietly labored behind the scenes for many decades to design wildly imaginative works which have turned heads everywhere they’re seen,” O’Brien said. “We’re proud of all our artists for creating works that will be exhibited not simply in one museum, but on art-loving fashionistas everywhere.”

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