Burberry has announced a limited-edition collection of Highgrove scarves, which celebrates the gardens at the private residence of His Majesty King Charles III.
Containing organic silk and finished with hand-rolled edges, the four illustrated scarves are named after the seasons, with each scarf featuring Highgrove Gardens and the house at its centre.
As a Royal Warrant holder, Burberry shares the commitment of The King’s Foundation, steward of Highgrove Gardens, to support the arts, passing the legacy of craft and artistry to the next generation.
The drawings for these scarves were created by British artist Sammi Lynch, a recent graduate from the Royal Drawing School. Sammi practices a range of techniques, including painting and printmaking. Her work expresses lived experiences of the landscape through images that emphasise space, texture and light.
Ahead of the launch of the limited-edition collection, we connected with Sammi to discuss her artistic practice, nature as inspiration and the beauty of Highgrove.
The four season-inspired scarves, as designed by Sammi Lynch
Q: Tell us about your creative journey – what led you to become an artist?
A: Drawing has been an important part of my life since an early age, it felt like a language through which I could communicate and express myself. Before studying at The Royal Drawing School, I studied at Manchester School of Art followed by Kingston School of Art. The Drawing School, in particular, gave me the tools and insight to be able to sustain myself with my artistic practice and I feel incredibly lucky to be able to paint full-time at the moment.
Q: Have you always been inspired by nature or has this focus grown with your artistic practice?
A: I grew up in the North West of England and spent a lot of time walking outside. When I was a child, my mum and I used to walk the dog in the evening. We would watch the seasons change and discuss the changing colours and light. Talking about nature was part of my daily routine. We’d observe the routines of local birds, hedgehogs, rabbits and badgers. Nowadays, I still return to these landscapes to draw, gathering material for paintings. My connection to the natural landscape both informs my work and is supported by it. I like to explore the ways in which places can hold memories.
Q: You create with both oil paint and pastels. What is it about both mediums that you particularly love?
A: I will generally work from life drawing with pastels. I like the immediacy of pastel on paper and the richness the pigments offer. Using these drawings as source material, in the studio I work with oil paint. In paint, I have a wider palette as I can mix my own colours, and there are more options in terms of surface and the medium that I use. I like moving between different media and this helps keep a kind of freshness as I have to modify my language to the media I am using.
Q: Throughout your artistic career, you’ve had a continued connection to British royalty, having recently completed a scholarship at The Royal Drawing School as well as a second residency at Dumfries House in October. What was it like living and working there again?
A: I was fortunate to be selected for the scholarship programme at The Royal Drawing School from 2021-22. This year of intensive observational drawing has given me a strong foundation within my artistic practice as well as a community of alumni and opportunities for growth and connection.
One opportunity was the residency program at Dumfries House, which I first attended in 2022 and then again this year. The residency offers private studio space to work in, as well as access to the royal house and 2,000 acres of grounds and extended rural landscapes. My residency this year in October was especially nice as the visit coincided with the autumnal transitional weeks. The arboretum was full of colour as the leaves changed and the light and weather were more varied. Four artists are invited to attend the residency at a time and we share accommodation, eat together and discuss our different creative practices. I spent my days walking in the landscape making drawings, then returning to my studio, or visiting the new printmaking studio to make works in response to the day’s drawings.
I have also exhibited my work at Buckingham Palace and some of my drawings are in the Royal Collection.
Q: Highgrove is a unique place with many beautiful gardens and features. Can you describe why Highgrove is special to you?
A: At Highgrove, I was made very welcome. A guide who had worked there for many years gave me a tour of the grounds, and through them I felt a connection to the care that went into creating and maintaining the gardens. I enjoyed drawing in the curated Highgrove gardens and the shapes and colours have been decided with care and attention. As an artist, it feels like a collaboration between myself and the gardeners.
Q: Is there a particular garden that you’ve enjoyed spending time in?
A: My favourite garden was the arboretum because it felt like an interconnected space where the relationships between the canopy and the ground level were well considered. This garden also exhibited the most change throughout the year, including dramatic transitions in colour and texture.
Q: Being built in the late 1700s and home to royalty, Highgrove is steeped in history. Do you get an innate sense of that when you’ve been at Highgrove and would you say that the context of the estate influences your work?
A: The lady who showed me around told me a lot about how His Majesty King Charles III was involved in the planning of the garden, and how he was often seen walking and working in the garden over the years. The place feels lived in, and it’s nice that local people can come to see the garden on tours. Before His Majesty King Charles III moved in, the gardens were overgrown and they were designed in consultation with the King. There is a rich history of artists being inspired by the gardens, including a musician who composed a piece about the grounds, and a perfumer who captured the scents of some of the flowers here.
Q: For your partnership with Burberry and Highgrove, you’ve created landscapes reflecting the four seasons. Can you tell us a little about these?
A: At Highgrove, I spent time in each of the different gardens, including the wild meadow, formal garden, and kitchen garden. The garden here is a working garden with biologically sustainable processes and bees are kept on the land, too. Throughout the year, the textures and colours change and you get a sense of peaks and troughs of activity, which I have tried to distil in the drawings.
Q: For this project, each of the seasonal landscapes have been transformed into silk scarves and are now available for people across the globe to purchase and wear. What does it mean to you to see your work in this way?
A: The quality of the print is incredible. The colours are so rich and you can see the brushstrokes. I am very pleased about the fidelity of the prints, and it means a lot to me how well they’ve been made. I have recently been showing my paintings in galleries and it is nice to see my drawings take on a new tactile form that can fit into people’s daily lives.
Q: This is your first time partnering with Burberry, a brand that also has a rich and unique heritage. What does Burberry represent for you and do you have any personal connection to the brand?
A: Burberry is a key figure in the contemporary cultural landscape and a brand I respect. Being offered the commission to collaborate with Burberry was very important to me.
The collection is now available at Burberry stores, Highgrove stores and online at www.burberry.com.
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