Our Brand Story
Artist & Photographer—Jean-Michel Gires
Transforming Photography into Beautiful Wearable Silk Art Scarves & Accessories
Traveller, storyteller, modern art photographer, impressionist lover – this is Jean-Michel Gires. Inspired by his own travels of seeing magical places, Jean-Michel brings unique and natural designs to your everyday life through his wearable art scarf collections.
Inspired by Earth’s natural beauty, the infinite colours and patterns around us, and the interplay of light and reflection, Jean-Michel captures conceptual beauty in digital images. Using these images, he then breathes new life into silk scarves, pocket squares, ties, leggings, kimonos, and other fashion pieces by artistically transposing his art onto these pieces. The end result: beautiful wearable art scarves & accessories that make a statement.
Influenced by the great tradition of French modern art painters, Jean-Michel looks to enrich the impressionist art experience with a twist for the modern art lover. Using an artistic eye and infinite patience, Jean-Michel is carving his space in the fashion world, pioneering his wearable art for those who want a truly unique fashion statement piece.
More than Fashion, but an Artistic Expression
Each of our silk scarves, silk pocket squares or leggings have a unique story behind them, telling the tale of the magical place that inspired Jean-Michel’s art. When you wear a By Jean Michel piece, you wear more than a scarf or a pair of leggings. You wear a piece of art, meant to captivate and connect while sharing the story of nature’s space.
Prior to creating his first wearable art collection in November 2015, Jean-Michel has featured his photography in exhibits across the world, including Canada, France, Bolivia, Venezuela, and China, for nearly two decades.
Originally from France, Jean-Michel now calls Canada home.
To see Jean-Michel’s work, shop here on our website to read the design stories that inspired each silk art scarf that By Jean Michel has produced throughout the years. Thank you for reading Our Brand Story.
Our Creative Process
Designed in Canada
Where can you find Canadian-made scarves & wearable art? While Jean-Michel Gires captures nature’s beauty from across the world, he designs his By Jean Michel wearable silk art scarves in Canada. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Jean-Michel tells the story of magical places in their many phases, capturing their beauty in countless photographs. With his fresh eye, he transforms something as simple and ordinary as a glass wall or a mountain lake into modern art, catching their authentic reflections and distortions of light.
From these images, Jean Michel chooses only a select few suited to become timeless statement pieces, to be worn with prestige. These images are printed as is, altered only slightly to adjust the image to the fabric, and preserve and respect the beautiful forms, reflections, and structures born from nature itself.
With each image, Jean Michel creates a story through a mosaic or a kaleidoscope of the original photo. With the pattern ready, it is then prepared for printing on silk art scarves. Transposing nature’s colours onto fabric can be tricky, often involving up to seven different stages to ensure a quality print, but this is an essential part of transforming By Jean Michel’s images into wearable silk art scarves.
In addition to selecting the right colours, we also print on natural fabrics only, typically silk or viscose, to support our theme of being inspired by nature’s magical places. The delicate textures of these fabrics pamper your skin while flowing elegantly in a way that showcases your piece of wearable art.
Printed Internationally
All By Jean Michel products are lovingly designed in Canada, but crafted with care across the world.
Long Silk Art Scarves: First printed in beautiful Bali and then shipped to the buzzing capital of Jakarta to complete the hems, each of our Long Silk Scarves is infused with the personality of each place—the love in Bali and the entertainment of Jakarta.
Luxury Square Scarves: We print our Square Silk Scarves in Lyon, France, bringing the history of the square scarf—which originated in Lyon—into your piece of wearable art.
Leggings: Just as our wearable art pieces are all designed in Canada, we also print our Leggings in Montréal, Québec, adding the vibrancy and energy of this city into your wearable piece of art.
Whatever piece you wear, you’ll discover both the beauty of Jean-Michel’s images and the tale of each country it’s crafted in. Once completed, all wearable art scarves & accessories are sent back to Canada to become ready for purchase.
Worn by You
All our wearable art silk scarves & accessories are sold online globally, as well as through private sale events and exhibitions in Western Canada—and then Worn by You.
Our Philosophy
“The Process of Designing Wearable Art Begins With a Camera Lens and a Love of Sharing Nature’s Beauty.”