This post is about a fascinating partnership between a jewlery designer from Thailand and two fashion designers from Holland.
Noon Passama, a Thai designer currently studying in The Netherlands, recently won the 2012 prize for an emerging art jeweler from the Art Jewelry Forum for her unusal collection of chain necklaces.
The necklaces came out of a collaborative project between Passama and Capara, an Antwerp-based clothing line founded by sisters Vera and Olivera Capara. They were part of Capara‘s Spring/Summer 2012 Collection, Favorite Dreams.
"The chain is the classic backbone of the jewelry field," says Art Jewelry Forum Emerging Artist Award juror Marjan Unger. "Everything that matters in a good chain lies in one element and the way it links with its neighbors." Which may help to explain why these deceptively simple looking necklaces snagged the top Art Jewelry Forum prize.
Besides the visual appeal of the neckalces, I'm struck by the collaboration between art jeweler and fashion designers that spawned them. Even though she's just starting her career, Passama favors collaborations. She reached out to Vera and Olivera Capara with the idea of collaboration, and they accepted.
At Jewelry Unleashed! The Symposium in the Netherlands in 2012, Passama shared her process for this collection. She started from scratch, basing her ideas on the Capara sisters' description of their collection. Passama began with identifying key words such as color, texture and detail, and then, through a series of drawings, began developing concepts. Once the concepts were ready, she shared and then revised them with input from the Capara sisters.
As it happens, the Capara sisters collaborate with artists to add other objects, such as furniture and art, to their clothing collections. Could this be the beginning of a trend? Does collaboration lead to more innovation?
What makes Passama so interesting is that after studying industrial design in Bangkok, she went on to study jewelry design in Amsterdam. There, she decided to link her design background to fashion.
These necklaces are appealing with their interlocking pieces of different sizes, shapes and colors. Who knew that a simple object like chains could be elevated into works of art?
Passama's work will be exhibited by Gallery Ra at the 2013 Collect International Art Fair in London. In the meantime, you can see more at Noon Passama.
Comments