Cool Hunting
Stringing plexiglass faces on shoelaces, Ottoman princesses and designers Yazbukey use lowbrow materials to take on some of pop culture's most famous silhouettes, forming outrageous statement necklaces and brooches. Having worked with similarly innovative designers including Martin Margiela, Christian Lacroix and Jeremy Scott, the absurdist pair call Paris their home base.
Previously choosing iconic figures such as Billy Idol (above left) and Michael Jackson for their homages, the two sisters continue to express their musical interest with mysterious French singer and "love guru" Sébastien Tellier as their muse for the Autumn/Winter 2010 collection (above right).
The upshot is a simple look with complex detailing—a playful collection that channels a "Crystal Age" feeling. For those in search of a retro-futurist look, accessories such as a Rosie the Riveter-style turban pinned with a Star Trek-inspired brooch will do the trick.
Pick up the line created by designers as eminent as the characters they showcase (maybe not the Obama necklace) online from Colette or at the Order & Progress shop in Melbourne starting at about €50.
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Of the many subversive crafts we've seen over the years—crocheted cupcakes, cameras and hamburgers come to mind—Marianne Batlle's handmade mix of sex and fashion takes the concept to a decidedly more edgy level. The Paris-based artist crochets penises in a range of fanciful materials and colors, incorporating silks and bows, as well as fuzzy angora threads, pearls, sequins and more, to lend personality to...
by Zeva Bellel A one-man luxury brand, Guy Chanel works alone out of his atelier on the outskirts of Paris handcrafting a variety of one-of-a-kind designs out of leather, crocodile, ostrich and other fine skins. From saddles, handbags and wallets to belts, armchairs and even lamps, Chanel makes every creation to measure, building them by hand using artisanal tools and techniques. By keeping production slow...
by Zeva Bellel For fifteen years Erik Halley has been handcrafting one-off pieces—triple-tiered shoulder pads encrusted with rhinestones and metal-spiked headphones—in his Parisian atelier for the best names in fashion, e.g. Lagerfeld, Yohji, Givenchy, Mugler, Dior, to name but a few. His mischievously extravagant designs (headbands with doll faces painted like Kiss for example) blur the boundaries between accessories and art. Halley’s big break came...
Formless most accurately describes the new Le Blob jewelry line by São Paulo's Fernando Akasaka, which recentlydebuted with a collection of an ambitious 200 pieces. Akasaka, if you recognize the name, produces furniture and other conceptual pieces under his F. Akasaka Design brand. After earlier this year sharing with me his desire to realize his ideas in metal on a smaller scale, it's apparent...
by Zeva Bellel Launched November 2008, Meilleur Ami makes niche men's accessories in Paris whose name is their promise—designs that behave like best friends. So strict is founder Fabien Larchez' BFF criteria that only two designs, the perfect bag and the perfect scarf, made it in the current collection. "A good accessory can very quickly become your best friend," says Larchez, while modeling his ingenious...
by Rebecca Harkins-Cross For the Tin man and Scarecrow in all of us, Julie Parker's latest collection Black Jewls offers an exquisite range of anatomically-correct wearable human organs cast in solid sterling silver and strung on hand-finished chains. Packaged in glass test tubes with cork stoppers, the collection of bodily charms include hearts, brains, vertebrae, ribcages and livers. By externalizing human internal organs, the Melbourne-based...
Front Frame Collection
Golden Orb Spider Silk
Alexandre Duret-Lutz: Wee Planets
No Mas: Rumblevision
Three Questions For Five Burton Riders
I Love America and America Loves Me Exhibit
Dom Pérignon Œnothèque Bol Sein
Glassybaby Votives
Emogayu Ceramics
