Written by Aisha BraithwaitePublished date 03 October 2018 Share story
Making a statement with jewellery isn’t always about precious metals and gemstones. Central Saint Martins tutor Aisha gives us her take on this exciting discipline.
Jewellery is the one part of an outfit that truly represents a snippet of our character.
Accessories such as shoes, bags, hats, sunglasses, even umbrellas serve a practical and functional purpose before a fashionable aesthetic is considered. However jewellery, lets face it, is not a necessity. For that reason, jewellery, for me, expresses a true sense of self. Even the choice to wear no jewellery is a strong statement.
Like our personalities the reasons we wear jewellery are diverse.
This could be for ethical or political reasons; for status, as an act of symbolism or for sentimental value. Or maybe it’s about certain materials that we like or are more durable than others.
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For me, jewellery design is an art form with only one limitation: jewellery is not jewellery unless it can be worn. But how it is worn- those possibilities are endless!
I’d like to introduce you to some up-and-coming designers who have approached jewellery design in un-conventional ways. Find out what they have to say about the ideas behind their projects.
Bella Mung: Re-imaging iconic jewellery
In the collection, wearable is not my aim as the pieces are challenging the stereotypical perceptions of what a pearl necklace is.
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“This is my personal story, translated into the language of jewellery. How to ‘fit into’ physical disability and psychological distortions. How to overcome them and make them ‘fit’ you”. Ekaterina Polikarpova’s work forces the wearer to perform acts and gestures that provoke viewers to assume particular feelings. She is very successful in communicating with her viewers. The work in the image above is from a project called ‘Fit Into’.
See some of Mai's earlier work in the second year jewellery show video on 1Granary
Ruby Parker: Re-packaging jewellery
Whare What you Waste
Video: produced by Callum Pepper.
“My collection 'Wear what you Waste' is made from a variety of household packaging that has been deconstructed from its original form and disguised as items of luxury. Through craftsmanship, I have transformed these mundane materials into valuable objects of desire; aiming to challenge the viewer's perception of what they deem as 'waste.'” One man's trash is another man's treasure. Parker has used materials that could be considered as rubbish and created fashionable pieces of jewellery. Her work questions what is precious and what does ‘precious’ really mean?
Each piece has a lightness about it, having enough weight to vividly hold its shape, but also allowing each piece to have a mind on its own, on or off the body.
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We talk to Jiho about how he's managed to blend his interests in architecture, 3D design and jewellery during his foundation course at Central Saint Martins.