Riccardo Tisci and Kanye West in Vogue

“Tisci’s passion for music has taken him around the world. His strong connection to the worlds of rap and R&B led his friends Kanye West and Jay-Z to enlist his services as art director for their collaborative album, Watch The Throne.

“I was a little bit scared, ” admits Tisci, “Because I’m not an artist or graphic artist.” He finally agreed and was awed when a meeting sequed into a jam session that involved Rihanna, Swizz Beatz and Pharrell Williams, all freely exchanging ideas “like a family giving opinions to each other,” remembers Tisci, “sharing – which is something that fashion is missing,” he adds plaintively.

His artwork for the single “H.A.M.” and the album (which reached number one on iTunes in 24 countries) draw Tisci’s childhood passion for mythology and religious iconography and his current engagement with psychedelic prints and graphics”