2024-04-23
Es Devlin is an English artist and set designer, made famous by the installations she has designed for Beyoncé, Kanye West and Adele concerts, among others. She has also designed sets for numerous fashion shows. Particularly memorable are the realizations for Dior and Yves Saint Laurent.
Esmeralda 'Es' Devlin was born in 1971 in Kingston upon Thames (part of Greater London). She studied English Literature at the University of Bristol and graduated from Central St. Martin's, specializing in theatre design. Since 1988 she has worked for the National Theatre, where, according to critics, "she is sought after for her ability to enter the psychic ether of any production and make it shine with meaning." Already in 1995, she wins the Linbury Award for set design.
Es Devlin has worked on "more than 380" projects since the mid-1990s. Her most famous career achievement certainly includes designing the set for Kanye West and Jay-Z's ''Watch the Throne'' tour (2011). The rappers performed their songs on giant LED cubes on which images were projected, and the light was emitted. The artist was also the first woman to design the UK pavilion for the World Expo (2021-2022). Viewers were enthralled by the wooden building with a façade of projecting slats on which words generated by artificial intelligence were displayed.
''A Tale of Two Gardens'' is another display of the set designer's talent. Fashion lovers at the Hôtel National des Invalides in Paris were transported to a barren Texan desert during the Dior S/S 2022 men's fashion show.
Interestingly, Es Devlin is the protagonist of one episode of the documentary series ''Abstract: the art of design". The production can be viewed on the streaming platform Netflix.