from THEBLONDESALAD.COM
Thursday, 30 June 2011
Friday, 24 June 2011
ELIZABETH GALTON PRESS DAY
On tuesday, Elizabeth Galton launched to the press her brand new website Elizabethgaltonstudio.com . She will be selling more than 40 amazing designers such Tomasz Donocik, Sho Fine Jewellery, Jessica de Lotz, Katie Rowland and me.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
NOTJUSTALABEL.COM
Gisele was fascinated by death from an early age. She grew up on a farm and used to watch goats giving birth. A voyeuristic streak compelled her to watch, even when the labour ended badly. She remembers her parents trying to shield from the death or deformity of a prematurely born kid and her resistance to their efforts. As she got older Gisele toyed with the idea of working in a mortuary. Birth is celebrated as an extraordinary event. Gisele thinks of death similarly – a beautiful and intriguing phenomenon. She is as inquisitive about the passing of a life as much as most people are about the beginning of one.
At the Royal College of Art Gisele stumbled across the Victorian tradition of wearing mourning or memorial jewellery to mark the death of a loved one. A fondness for antiques twinned with a curiosity about the past fuelled her interest in this practice. Gisele admired the concept that you could imbue an object with feelings and memories as a means of remembrance. So Gisele’s jewellery challenges the notion that beautiful things can only ever be celebratory: An individual’s jewellery box might tell tales of love and new beginnings but can also speak of loss and commemoration.
Her strict catholic upbringing doesn’t marry well with her musings on divorce. Christmas time, she says, ‘is sometimes an awkward event!’. Apparently her grandmother has learnt from experience not to inquire in too much detail about the meaning behind Gisele’s work. The designer is perplexed as to why divorce remains such a taboo; especially when it so prominent and common an occurrence that a marriage in the UK today is almost as likely to end in divorce as it is the death of a spouse. Her spin on divorce is as refreshing as her take on death: a new beginning in which someone should take full advantage of the freedom gifted to them by the split. I wondered at this point whether she is talking from experience. Apparently not – she is neither the product of a broken marriage, nor has she been divorced herself. She simply wants the wearer to make something positive out of their sadness.
She recognises that fashion ‘speaks to a lot of people’ and appeals to a wide audience. Her pieces, like her, are dramatic: Skulls everywhere, a noose for a necklace, and knuckle dusters adorned with dead birds and dying roses. It was an old French custom to present brides with doves and roses for good luck. Gisele’s knuckle dusters subvert the sentiment. She uses mainly silver – ‘it is cheaper and more widely available,’ but likes the idea of experimenting with more unusual materials, like human hair. She is exploring the possibility of making pieces using the ashes of a loved one.
Her designs can be oversized but are always intricately detailed. She makes jewellery that she wants to wear and each time I meet her she has the same pieces on, her uniform. Black dress, mourning necklace, divorce ring (one of the first she ever made), alongside a vintage and oversized man’s watch. When asked what she hates to be without, without a second’s hesitation; ‘My red lipstick.’ I can imagine wearing the pieces would be empowering and comforting - they are armour for the body and have a protective quality to them. Yet what I think is beautiful about them is that they are so nimbly decorated, they have balance, there is vulnerability in their delicacy.
At the Royal College of Art Gisele stumbled across the Victorian tradition of wearing mourning or memorial jewellery to mark the death of a loved one. A fondness for antiques twinned with a curiosity about the past fuelled her interest in this practice. Gisele admired the concept that you could imbue an object with feelings and memories as a means of remembrance. So Gisele’s jewellery challenges the notion that beautiful things can only ever be celebratory: An individual’s jewellery box might tell tales of love and new beginnings but can also speak of loss and commemoration.
Her strict catholic upbringing doesn’t marry well with her musings on divorce. Christmas time, she says, ‘is sometimes an awkward event!’. Apparently her grandmother has learnt from experience not to inquire in too much detail about the meaning behind Gisele’s work. The designer is perplexed as to why divorce remains such a taboo; especially when it so prominent and common an occurrence that a marriage in the UK today is almost as likely to end in divorce as it is the death of a spouse. Her spin on divorce is as refreshing as her take on death: a new beginning in which someone should take full advantage of the freedom gifted to them by the split. I wondered at this point whether she is talking from experience. Apparently not – she is neither the product of a broken marriage, nor has she been divorced herself. She simply wants the wearer to make something positive out of their sadness.
She recognises that fashion ‘speaks to a lot of people’ and appeals to a wide audience. Her pieces, like her, are dramatic: Skulls everywhere, a noose for a necklace, and knuckle dusters adorned with dead birds and dying roses. It was an old French custom to present brides with doves and roses for good luck. Gisele’s knuckle dusters subvert the sentiment. She uses mainly silver – ‘it is cheaper and more widely available,’ but likes the idea of experimenting with more unusual materials, like human hair. She is exploring the possibility of making pieces using the ashes of a loved one.
Her designs can be oversized but are always intricately detailed. She makes jewellery that she wants to wear and each time I meet her she has the same pieces on, her uniform. Black dress, mourning necklace, divorce ring (one of the first she ever made), alongside a vintage and oversized man’s watch. When asked what she hates to be without, without a second’s hesitation; ‘My red lipstick.’ I can imagine wearing the pieces would be empowering and comforting - they are armour for the body and have a protective quality to them. Yet what I think is beautiful about them is that they are so nimbly decorated, they have balance, there is vulnerability in their delicacy.
‘My jewellery is very beautiful on the exterior, but when you understand the symbolic you realise the hidden depths that can be dark.’ Tim Burton is a huge inspiration and influence. “I am incredibly excited about Alice in Wonderland, not least because I am designing a piece for one of the actresses for the premier, I would love nothing more than to go to that!’
Her other inspirations derive from old screen sirens, sexual and powerful. I notice a shelf above her workspace cluttered with objects that she has collected. Alongside vintage lingerie outer packaging lie some hand cuffs and a statue of a black crow. Crows have been used by painters to symbolise death since Van Gogh. As I flick through the many pages in her sketchbook I notice that next to the quirky images of a toe with a name tag on it in the mortuary, there are also more distressing images of suicide and self harm. ‘I think that sometimes it is easier to create my pieces from the most shocking themes in life,’ she says. Making the pieces forces her audience to consider what we are afraid of and why. And if that fear is justified.
I am intrigued to know what happens when Gisele’s pieces are worn out of context, when a divorce ring is bought as an engagement ring for example. ‘Ha this has happened’ she says, ‘I explain the concept to the buyer, but usually they love the piece so much that they do not mind, they are buying it for the aesthetics, and though I would prefer it to be worn in context, I appreciate that this too is a piece to mark an event, and I would prefer this to someone purchasing it as a fashion choice.’ She uses the term mourning interchangeably; ‘Divorce is about mourning your marriage, and when you wear my pieces you should feel stronger and empowered to move onto the next stage of your life and ready to emerge as a new being in the world, no longer part of another.’ Gisele is a motivated person, she works full time near Bond Street, designing for another jewellery maker and in the evenings and on weekends she makes her own pieces in the studio she rents. She is eager to become a renowned designer and this is what drives her. She wants to be recognised for her work and is passionate about her jewellery being worn for all the right reasons. Fashion doesn’t suffice.
She has her jewellery in stores in Hong Kong as well as London. While she thinks that fashion moves too fast, luckily for her, jewellery doesn’t move at such a frantic pace. The speed of the collections means that you can ‘lose the concept in favour of the aesthetics’ - research can get foreshortened. Some of her pieces are handmade one-offs whilst others lend themselves to being produced on a more commercial basis. Although attracted to historical symbolism, she is also interested in creating new customs and traditions. She is not seeking to romanticize divorce - it is more about seeing this disunion from a different perspective. Time can alter the memory of a loved one and her jewellery, in its simplest form, seeks to remind us of them but also enable us to continue without them, whether we are separated from them by death or by design.
Her other inspirations derive from old screen sirens, sexual and powerful. I notice a shelf above her workspace cluttered with objects that she has collected. Alongside vintage lingerie outer packaging lie some hand cuffs and a statue of a black crow. Crows have been used by painters to symbolise death since Van Gogh. As I flick through the many pages in her sketchbook I notice that next to the quirky images of a toe with a name tag on it in the mortuary, there are also more distressing images of suicide and self harm. ‘I think that sometimes it is easier to create my pieces from the most shocking themes in life,’ she says. Making the pieces forces her audience to consider what we are afraid of and why. And if that fear is justified.
I am intrigued to know what happens when Gisele’s pieces are worn out of context, when a divorce ring is bought as an engagement ring for example. ‘Ha this has happened’ she says, ‘I explain the concept to the buyer, but usually they love the piece so much that they do not mind, they are buying it for the aesthetics, and though I would prefer it to be worn in context, I appreciate that this too is a piece to mark an event, and I would prefer this to someone purchasing it as a fashion choice.’ She uses the term mourning interchangeably; ‘Divorce is about mourning your marriage, and when you wear my pieces you should feel stronger and empowered to move onto the next stage of your life and ready to emerge as a new being in the world, no longer part of another.’ Gisele is a motivated person, she works full time near Bond Street, designing for another jewellery maker and in the evenings and on weekends she makes her own pieces in the studio she rents. She is eager to become a renowned designer and this is what drives her. She wants to be recognised for her work and is passionate about her jewellery being worn for all the right reasons. Fashion doesn’t suffice.
She has her jewellery in stores in Hong Kong as well as London. While she thinks that fashion moves too fast, luckily for her, jewellery doesn’t move at such a frantic pace. The speed of the collections means that you can ‘lose the concept in favour of the aesthetics’ - research can get foreshortened. Some of her pieces are handmade one-offs whilst others lend themselves to being produced on a more commercial basis. Although attracted to historical symbolism, she is also interested in creating new customs and traditions. She is not seeking to romanticize divorce - it is more about seeing this disunion from a different perspective. Time can alter the memory of a loved one and her jewellery, in its simplest form, seeks to remind us of them but also enable us to continue without them, whether we are separated from them by death or by design.
Saturday, 18 June 2011
UK JEWELLERY AWARD 2011
Just a remember that I have been shortlisted for THE NEW DESIGNER OF THE YEAR and CATWLK JEWELLERY OF THE YEAR by the UK JEWELLERY AWARD 2011. I am so proud!!!
Thursday, 16 June 2011
STYLOKO.COM
THE BUZZ
Gisèle Ganne is a talented up and coming jewellery designer whose unique collections stand out from the rest. Her creations have featured in dozens of big publication photo shoots and worn by top celebrities. And she’s only been at it for 3 years.
As you know, we’re great admirers of fabulousness here at Styloko, so we were very excited to get the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
“Your jewellery has adorned the likes of Eve, Ke$sha, and Lady Gaga, and has featured in shoots from Vogue to Wonderland, and even Metro, to name but a few. This is an exciting time for you, what’s next?
Since I launched my first collection in 2008, it has been fantastic!! It’s always amazing to see your jewellery on celebrities and in magazines!! I am very pleased how things are going and would like to continue in this direction, so hopefully more celebrities and magazines are next.
I am also working on a new collection that I will launch in October and if I have the choice, what’s next will be to see more of my designs on Lady Gaga, Daphne Guinness and Gwen Stefani. I would love to see my jewellery in the next Tim Burton movie as well. You never know, dreams can come true, they have so far!!
Your designs are so unique and the collection titles are even more so, with evocative names like The Black Widow, The New Amazon and Divorce Jewellery. Could you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind them?
It all started at the RCA when I saw the movie “The Rules of Attraction” in which there is an amazing suicide scene. A girl is in her bath, she takes off one ring, puts it to one side , then a second one and another then finishes with a rasor blade. It was so beautiful and interesting to see the relation between jewellery and death that I start researching funeral rituals and death. I discovered victorian mourning jewellery which I fell in love with. From there my first collection The Black Widow was born, where each piece tells a story about the deceased and their widow.
But for me mourning wasn’t just about dead people but also dead friendship, relationships and marriage so the natural next step was Divorce Jewellery. Once you divorce, you need to find another perfect husband, to hunt for the perfect man, from which came the Hunting Man and more recently, The New Amazon collections.
For me, the jewellery box tells the story of a life: you have jewellery for your birth, your birthday, some from ex-boyfriend, some from holidays, an engagement ring, a wedding ring…. Jewellery for each happy moment in you life. Life is not just full of happy moments, there are also the bad ones and I guess my jewellery illustrated those (death, separation, divorce….).
I will quote ALEXANDER MCQUEEN (my idol by the way): ” It is important to look at death because it is a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholic but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle- everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things”.
Is creating something unique a big part of your focus when designing?
Yes of course, I like the fact that my jewellery is exclusive and unique! It gives more freedom to inspiration and to come up with amazing designs. To be commercial is in a way so restrictive that it wouldn’t feel right for me.
Where do you get your best ideas?
Everywhere and everything! I have a massive folder in my computer untitled inspiration. It is full of everything and i like to browse it from time to time to get some inspiration. And strangely enough, I often get ideas while in the bath, I should think about to setting up my office in my bathroom!
Is there a typical Gisèle Ganne woman or man?
Not really. It is someone who fell in love with the pieces.
How would you define good design, jewellery or otherwise?
Same answer: you know it’s good when someone falls in love with it!”
We can’t wait for Gisèle’s next collection. If you’d like to view her collections and find out stockist information, please visit her website.
Spotlight On Gisèle Ganne
Gisèle Ganne is a talented up and coming jewellery designer whose unique collections stand out from the rest. Her creations have featured in dozens of big publication photo shoots and worn by top celebrities. And she’s only been at it for 3 years.
As you know, we’re great admirers of fabulousness here at Styloko, so we were very excited to get the opportunity to ask her a few questions.
“Your jewellery has adorned the likes of Eve, Ke$sha, and Lady Gaga, and has featured in shoots from Vogue to Wonderland, and even Metro, to name but a few. This is an exciting time for you, what’s next?
Since I launched my first collection in 2008, it has been fantastic!! It’s always amazing to see your jewellery on celebrities and in magazines!! I am very pleased how things are going and would like to continue in this direction, so hopefully more celebrities and magazines are next.
I am also working on a new collection that I will launch in October and if I have the choice, what’s next will be to see more of my designs on Lady Gaga, Daphne Guinness and Gwen Stefani. I would love to see my jewellery in the next Tim Burton movie as well. You never know, dreams can come true, they have so far!!
Your designs are so unique and the collection titles are even more so, with evocative names like The Black Widow, The New Amazon and Divorce Jewellery. Could you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind them?
It all started at the RCA when I saw the movie “The Rules of Attraction” in which there is an amazing suicide scene. A girl is in her bath, she takes off one ring, puts it to one side , then a second one and another then finishes with a rasor blade. It was so beautiful and interesting to see the relation between jewellery and death that I start researching funeral rituals and death. I discovered victorian mourning jewellery which I fell in love with. From there my first collection The Black Widow was born, where each piece tells a story about the deceased and their widow.
But for me mourning wasn’t just about dead people but also dead friendship, relationships and marriage so the natural next step was Divorce Jewellery. Once you divorce, you need to find another perfect husband, to hunt for the perfect man, from which came the Hunting Man and more recently, The New Amazon collections.
For me, the jewellery box tells the story of a life: you have jewellery for your birth, your birthday, some from ex-boyfriend, some from holidays, an engagement ring, a wedding ring…. Jewellery for each happy moment in you life. Life is not just full of happy moments, there are also the bad ones and I guess my jewellery illustrated those (death, separation, divorce….).
I will quote ALEXANDER MCQUEEN (my idol by the way): ” It is important to look at death because it is a part of life. It is a sad thing, melancholic but romantic at the same time. It is the end of a cycle- everything has to end. The cycle of life is positive because it gives room for new things”.
Is creating something unique a big part of your focus when designing?
Yes of course, I like the fact that my jewellery is exclusive and unique! It gives more freedom to inspiration and to come up with amazing designs. To be commercial is in a way so restrictive that it wouldn’t feel right for me.
Where do you get your best ideas?
Everywhere and everything! I have a massive folder in my computer untitled inspiration. It is full of everything and i like to browse it from time to time to get some inspiration. And strangely enough, I often get ideas while in the bath, I should think about to setting up my office in my bathroom!
Is there a typical Gisèle Ganne woman or man?
Not really. It is someone who fell in love with the pieces.
How would you define good design, jewellery or otherwise?
Same answer: you know it’s good when someone falls in love with it!”
We can’t wait for Gisèle’s next collection. If you’d like to view her collections and find out stockist information, please visit her website.
Thanks Khaleb!!
Wednesday, 15 June 2011
FIRENZE 4EVER RETURNED
FIRENZE 4EVER at LuisaviaRoma returned last weekend.
It is the Third edition of this special event that brings together international bloggers and the hottest designers to discover the new A/W 2011 collection in store.
Chiara Ferragni from THE BLONDE SALAD choosed to wear my LA GAZZA LADRA pearl necklace for a second look of her STYLELAB. She looks so beautiful with it!!
It is the Third edition of this special event that brings together international bloggers and the hottest designers to discover the new A/W 2011 collection in store.
Chiara Ferragni from THE BLONDE SALAD choosed to wear my LA GAZZA LADRA pearl necklace for a second look of her STYLELAB. She looks so beautiful with it!!
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
TRACEY EMIN EXHIBITION
It was awesome! You really understand her more after it and realized that she doesn't just party all the time by the amount of work shown!!
Wednesday, 8 June 2011
VOGUE EXPERIENCE AT HARVEY NICHOLS
Christopher Kane & Manolo Blahnick
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
VAGINA THE ZINE
THE VAGINA ZINE
Beautiful Endings with Designer Gisele Ganne
There is a story to be found behind every piece of jewelry we wear, even going beyond the usual romance-laden engagement rings and diamond anniversary bracelets to a symbolic way to wear the end of a time in life, be it withering relationships of even life itself. Gisele Ganne is the inspired designer behind these metallic farewell facades.
“I have always been attracted by the dark side!” says Ganne. “I am obsessed with skulls and skeletons of any kind. But it really started after watching The Rules of Attraction— there is an amazing scene of suicide! I thought it was so beautiful that I wanted to do something around it, so I started to research about death, funerals and other customs as mourning jewelry.”
Gisele Ganne’s modern interpretation of mourning and memorial jewelry, last glorified during the likes of the Victorian era, comes to celebrate and exalt the painful and beautiful ends to life’s cycles. In her mourning jewelry line, you can find the Bird of Prey ring, a stunning example of just how elegant these symbols of death can be, and one of her favorite pieces in her collection. Using leather, silver, foam and even touches of human hair, the jewelry designer is able to bring that delicate appreciation for life’s closing ceremonies to new heights through her beautiful execution and poignant last symbols.
In a time when these same mementos serve as reminders of love and lust, Gisele pulls inspiration from villages that still forge their meaning in these same mourning symbols, making the process of letting go look so stylish. Stay tuned for her upcoming collection debut during fashion week, and check out more of her work on her website.
— By Mandy Spivey
Monday, 6 June 2011
MY FAVORITE PLACE IN PARIS
Whenever i am going to Paris, I try to visit Galerie de paléontologie et d'anatomie comparée. It's such an amazing place! I always feel inspired there!! No wonder why!!
Once there, I always pop up to the Librairy of the Jardin des Plantes to have a look at the beautiful Cabinet de Curiosités de Bonnier de la Mosson!I wish i have the same at home!
Thursday, 2 June 2011
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