DESIGNER BIOGRAPHIES

THE DESIGNERS AND THEIR JEWELS

Swarovski has commissioned designers from around the world to create their ultimate vision of jewellery for the catwalk. The designers, all linked in some way to both jewellery and fashion, are asked to find new expressions for crystal in jewels, to experiment with the forms, meanings and conventions of jewels today, to merge fashion, body ornament and jewellery. Swarovski crystal is to be the hero of each design.

The result is Runway Rocks.

MANISH ARORA
Award-winning fashion designer, Manish Arora launched his own-name label in 1997, retailing his collections in India, and participating in the first ever India Fashion Week in 2000. His second label Fish Fry was launched in 2001, with his first Fish Fry flagship store opening in New Delhi in 2002, followed by a second in Mumbai in 2003. Today, Manish Arora sells around the world and now launches his collections at Paris Fashion Week. He has several successful design collaborations with brands including Reebok, Mac and Swatch. In September 2007, Manish Arora was invited to show his latest collection at a prestigious Fashion in Motion event at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

JEWEL: A BEAUTIFUL LIFE
Manish Arora’s creation for Swarovski Runway Rocks captures the essence of life. The designer recreates the human body in dramatic form, playing with dimensions and vivid colours. Rich jewel tones are used to depict various contours of the body. Flesh and organs are highly stylised and richly crystallised, and at the centre of this jewelled creation beats a heart, in signature Manish style. Using a base of EVA rubber foam, Manish Arora combines Crystallized Swarovski chandelier components, with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements in Metallic Blue Crystal, Amethyst, Amore Boreale, Indicolite, Light Rose, Siam, Montana, Indian Red, Emerald and Light
Colorado Topaz.

ERICKSON BEAMON
The brand partnership between Vicki Beamon and Karen Erickson have made a significant impact on the fashion industry during the course of the last twenty years. Starting out in the early 80s in Birmingham, Michigan, Erickson Beamon moved to Manhattan, and then to London by the mid 80s, as they sought to spearhead the European wholesale market. As the duo styled their initial runway shows they began to accessorize their collection by stringing crystals and beads on suede, and it was from here that the legacy of Erickson Beamon was born.

In 2004 the first Erickson Beamon Diamond and 18ct white gold collection was premiered to celebrate its 21st birthday and launched at Barney’s Flagship Store in Manhattan, NY.

JEWEL: ZULU ANGEL
The ‘Masai Warrior’ and the ‘Fairy Princess’ have jointly inspired Erickson Beamon’s third creation for Runway Rocks. The shape and design of the Masai corset in conjunction with the crystal colouring from the Princess have been combined to contribute to the creation of this piece. They have used a wide range of CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements and the large crystal stones have particularly been prominent in their inspiration. In Beamon’s own words “Swarovski crystal continues to inspire our most significant shapes through colour and shapes.”

FRANCESCA BRISTOL
Much of Francesca Bristol’s work incorporates the use of silver in her experimentation with various different elements. Her metal pieces are instantly recognisable and attract a following not only for its wearability but also for the striking sculptural ability that it commands. With a following from the show business and rock contingent, her pieces are widely admired for their originality and imagination which succeed in combining both the elemental and the modern. Her silver pieces are largely based on the instinct for self-defence and she has completed silver pendants shaped like primeval weapons including spearheads and medieval armour sculpted to resemble spike rings and cuffs. Her work was recently selected by the V&A for their ‘Touch Me’ exhibition

JEWEL: SOFTMACHINE
The symbol of fertility is a prominent theme in Francesca’s work. The male female ritual is represented in this piece specifically by the flamingos joining together to make new life; beaks pecking, necking, glistening with crystals evoking sparking sunlight reflected on a still lake. As Bristol comments, “the carpet of brilliant colour is both joyful and inspiring.”

Bristol’s use of CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements captivates the essence of fertility and rebirth to create ‘softmachine.’

ALEXANDRA BYRNE
Having trained as an architect at Bristol University, Alexandra Byrne undertook a further course in Theatre Design at the English National Opera, studying under the legendary Margaret Harris. Subsequently she has worked as both a set and costume designer in countless television and theatre productions and won a BAFTA for her work in Roger Mitchell’s Persuasion. She received a further BAFTA nomination for Buddah of Suburbia (which also received a RTS award) and a Tony nomination for Best Set Design for “Some Americans Abroad.” She was awarded Oscar nominations for Kenneth Branagh’s production of ‘Hamlet’, also Elizabeth and Finding Neverland and this year succeeded in winning an Oscar for ‘Elizabeth The Golden Age’.

JEWEL: AFRICAN PRINCESS
Making use of a diverse selection of CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements, the inspiration for this piece has come from the jewellery of the 1930s, in particular Winterhalter and Ingres. Alexandra worked with Janet Barber when producing her piece.

HUSSEIN CHALAYAN
A year after graduating from St Martin’s School of Art, Hussein Chalayan launched his own label in 1994. He has since been awarded the Absolut design award in 1995 and celebrated British Designer of the Year in both 1999 and 2000. Chalayan focuses on the use of film, installations and sculptural forms to explore perception and the realities of modern life and his work has received worldwide recognition being displayed worldwide. Following his appointment to Asprey as Creative Director in 2001, he launched both his own womens' label in Paris and a menswear collection too, having designed previously for TSE Cashmere, Top Shop and Marks and Spencer. Chalayan lectures regularly about his work and was awarded and MBE for his contribution to fashion. This year a ten-year retrospective of his work was exhibited at the Groninger Museum in the Netherlands.

JEWEL: TURNING CAPE/ LASER DRESS FROM THE READINGS COLLECTION 2008
Chalayan was inspired to create this piece through his desire to exaggerate the reflection of light on the CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements. “With the combination of the rotating cape and collar, a large effect of brightness in motion is produced.”

ANA DE COSTA
Ana de Costa has demonstrated herself as a rising talent; with her designs heavily influenced not only by her many travels to the Orient but also her Latin heritage too. The way in which she encases her stones with luxurious gold demonstrates her natural talent and bohemian sense of style and following her graduation, Carol Woolton from British Vogue recommended her as the ‘jeweller to watch.’ It is scarcely surprising that one year on in 2006, she won a prestigious place at International Jewellery London on the ‘coveted ‘Bright Gems Stand.’ Ana’s third collection and capsule couture collection for the Tarzanite Foundation were launched in the autumn of 2007.

JEWEL: MYSTICAL TAROT
The inspiration for this piece has been derived from two pieces of Ana’s Mystical Tarot Collection. “The piece is intended to have both a spiritual and mystical touch to it” as the colours blend between light lime green and jonquil to emerald. The way in which the colour has been used, further contributes to the atmosphere and drama, which this piece creates.

LIGIA DIAS
With a degree in Graphic Design from the University of Art and Design in Lausanne, Switzerland, Ligia Dias has since undertaken work assisting the likes of Alber Elbaz for Lanvin, Karina Bisch and Mai-Thu Perret. Her decision to work solo in 2005 allowed her to contribute to the 2005 Signes Quotidiens exhibition in Paris, the knitwear program for the Comme Des Garcons Fall-Winter 2006 collection culminating in her participation in the 10th Anniversary of Colette Paris. Her SS08 collection has involved her collaboration with Phillip Lim, and the collection “Ligia Dias Colliers” is now available worldwide.

JEWEL: THE CRYSTAL ROPE
Dias’s work replays postulate from the Bauhaus. Based on this idea, she aims to work with standard components mixed to what she calls “the image of luxury.” She is continuing the process that people as Anni Albers or Coco Chanel have worked many years before her time and likes to say that her work is “Coco Chanel and Max Bill, having a tour in a Matra 530 customised by Sonia Delaunay.”

Mixing raw industrial material as rope and stainless steel washers with glass cream pearls and Swarovski stones, she wants to prove that the Bauhaus philosophy is still and always a contemporary statement and not a modernist utopia. With this in mind she argues that “this natural material embellished by the Swarovski’s cutting technique is almost like working with diamonds, so that CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements are the perfect materials to illustrate her postulate.”

NAOMI FILMER
Since graduating in 1993 from the Royal College of Art in London, Naomi Filmer has gained an international reputation as a conceptual jeweller, experimenting with materials and exploring the placement of work on the body, questioning traditional vocabularies of meaning and reference in jewellery. Recent work follows a development away from wearable objects towards the sculptural. By selecting details of physical form and expression she presents the body as a jewel in its own right, notably in 'Out of the Ordinary' at the V&A, London, and more recently working with glass and shoes for 'SKIN' at Fort Asperen, The Netherlands. Naomi has taught in the jewellery and fashion departments of CSM, Royal College of Art, Institute of European Design (Milan), elsewhere in the UK and in The Netherlands and Switzerland.

JEWEL: HI-HAIR TWINKLE
Naomi’s headpiece presents the Swarovski stones as an extension of the wearer herself. Jewels appear as if from under her skin, glimmering through hair, a walking jewel. Her inspirations include illustrations by Aubrey Beardsley, 18th century hair trends, Afro-Caribbean hair weave and contemporary hair culture too, Marie Antionette crossed with Elvis Presley, Amy Winehouse and Erykah Badu with a macabre twist of Science Fiction fantasy.

ELIZABETH GALTON
A graduate of London’s Royal College of Art, Elizabeth Galton has exhibited her couture jewellery at exclusive galleries across Europe, including The Form/Design Centre, Sweden and Galerie Marzee, Nijmegen, Holland. Galton is currently pioneering the very latest electroforming technology, which has enabled her to break the boundaries of conventional jewellery manufacture. She has received many prestigious awards including the Crafts Council Development Award and the GOLD Award for Fashion Jewellery in the Goldsmith’s Craftsmanship & Design Awards 2004. Galton is a visiting tutor at The London Institute and a guest speaker at the Royal College of Art.

JEWEL: ORCHID GEM
‘Orchid Gem’ is an avant garde fusion of Swarovski crystal and white metal exploding with brilliance, colour, and overblown dimensions. Inspired by the myriad and opulent forms of exotic orchids, Swarovski crystal enables Galton to reveal the orchid world in all its spectacular glory. ‘Orchid Gem’ casts off the usual jewellery rules in favour of an exploratory sculptural relationship with the human form. It seeks to go beyond the clearly defined realms of jewellery, clothing, and ornament – spearheading a new genre of jewellery that is a revolutionary fusion of adornment, couture, fashion, and sculpture. Through her use of electroforming, Galton has achieved silky smooth flowing forms, which are at the same time light enough to be wearable and strong enough to hold dazzling CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements crystal XILION stones. “As a symbol, the flower embodies life, at once temporary and eternal, and my intention is to express this fundamental paradox in a solid and lasting form.”

COLLADO GARCIA
Collado Garcia is an emerging luxury women’s ready-to-wear brand, founded in 2004 by Spanish-born designers Francisco Collado and Carlos Garcia, who have both worked in couture, men’s and women’s Prêt-a-Porter, jewellery and accessories. Carlos trained in Haute Couture with Hans Müller, a former disciple of Christian Dior and worked for Philip Treacy, Victor Edelstein, Tomasz Starzewski and Hardy Amies. They met in 1995 and moved to England to open their own couture atelier.

Both designers have been closely involved with jewellery, making special catwalk pieces for Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Givenchy, Mulberry, Marjan Pejoski, Ozwald Boateng and Swarovski. Their current collections are elaborate, coherent and mature, showing great attention to detail, with a focus on impeccable pattern cutting and absolute loyalty to the feminine form. Collado Garcia’s A-list celebrities include, Madonna, Sienna Miller, BBC TV presenter Julia Bradbury, the principal ballerina at the Royal Opera House Tamara Rojo and Girls Aloud.

JEWEL: CHIMERA
For this project Collado Garcia have merged two concepts: Reptilian and Cyborg. “This is the look of an intergalactic creature who found her way into a dragon’s lair, fell asleep on a nest made of precious stones and woke up with the gems fused onto her skin.”

ZAHA HADID
Zaha Hadid is an architect who consistently pushes the boundaries of architecture and urban design. Her work experiments with new spatial concepts, intensifying existing urban landscapes in the pursuit of a visionary aesthetic that encompasses all fields of design, ranging from urban scale through to products, interiors and furniture. Hadid studied architecture at the architectural association from 1972 and was awarded the Diploma Prize in 1977. She then became a partner of the office from Metropolitan Arch., taught at the AA with OMA collaborators Rem Koolhaas and Elia Zenghelis, and later led her own studio. She is currently Professor at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna.

JEWEL: CELESTE
Zaha Hadid’s creation for Swarovski Runway Rocks is a microcosm of her work as an architect and an expression of her views on art. “I think what is new in the art of our generation is its reflection of a much greater level of social complexity. Contemporary society is not standing still - and its art evolves with patterns of life. My idea is to start from ideas and traditions in design but to then make them into something new and unusual. My ideas come from observation: of the site, of nature, of people moving in the city. It’s always about how you move people through a space, and how they use it.” Zaha Hadid has used ENLIGHTENEDTM - Swarovski Gemstones in her piece.

KIRT HOLMES
A gift of vintage jewellery left to her by a grandmother she had never known, was the catalyst to Kirt Holmes’s career as a leading British jewellery designer. She studied jewellery design at Middlesex University, and graduated in 1999, when she worked for Erickson Beamon, making catwalk jewels for designers like Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Emanuel Ungaro, Agent Provocateur and others. At the same time, she designed a collection under her own name and has gone onto develop her style, which she describes as modern yet vintage, with a focus on chain and fluidity.

JEWEL: SLEEVES NO 2
The sweeping chain sleeves from the arms of the model are offset against the sizeable chandelier necklace around the model’s neck and cuffs around her arms.

CHRISTOPHER KANE
A meteoric rising star of the international fashion world, Christopher Kane’s degree shows, both his BA and MA Womenswear, at London’s Central St Martin’s School won him numerous awards, accolades and sponsors along with a job with Versace. When he won the annual Lancôme Colour Award, for the second year running in 2005, one of the judges brought his work to the attention of Donatella Versace, who immediately decided to sponsor his MA collection and offered him a job on completion. Christopher was asked to present his MA collection to Anna Wintour of US Vogue, in a private viewing, after which he was invited to sit next to her in the front row at Donatella Versace’s A/W06 show in Milan. Shortly after graduating he was named Scottish Young Designer of 2006, and also won New Generation sponsorship from Top Shop and the British Fashion Council, enabling him to launch his debut collection for S/S 07 at London Fashion Week. Since graduating, he has been working in Milan with Versace on various projects including Couture and accessories. Kane’s inspiration for his MA show came
from obscure Picasso line drawings, blended with the glamour of Gianni Versace’s 1990s’ collections and underlined with the theme of American Beauty Pageants.

JEWEL: ADDICTED TO MESH
The inspiration for Christopher Kane’s Runway Rocks creation comes from obscure Picasso sketches and the construction of chandeliers. “I love working with crystal. It is a material that really inspires me. I especially love working with crystal mesh and exploring ways of making it more youthful and modern through my designs.”

FARAH KHAN
Farah Khan is a gemmologist and renowned jewellery designer who trained at the Gemological Institute of America, Santa Monica, California, in 1992-93 where she graduated top of her class. With 15 years experience in this field, she says still feels like a “creatively-inclined soul who happened to come across jewellery,” designing by chance, only to discover that she was born for it. Today, known as an uncompromising perfectionist, using only the finest hand craftsmanship at her disposal, she designs for top Bollywood stars and members of India's foremost business families and her brand, "FARAH KHAN" which was launched in February 2004 in Mumbai now has four outlets: Mahesh Notandass in Mumbai, AKM Mehrasons in New Delhi, and Meena Jewellers in Hyderabad and Dubai.
For Farah, inspiration begins with strong emotion. “I am inspired by the process of life and my experiences of it. My designs are flamboyant, ornate and adventurous. I believe that jewellery should make you feel like a princess.”

JEWEL: GODDESS
A Goddess is supreme. She is the embodiment of grandeur, beauty and immortality, an unending source of inspiration and guidance, as well as a compassionate beneficiary, giving love and protection to her ardent followers and worshippers, while standing strong beside the divine Gods themselves. The goddess figure in Indian mythology is depicted as brimming with SHAKTI, the ultimate power that has created and destroyed.

SHAUN LEANE
Trained in Hatton Garden, London’s Jewellery Quarter, Shaun Leane is a member of the Institute of Professional Goldsmiths. Awarded UK Jewellery Designer of the Year 2004 & 2005, Shaun Leane is internationally celebrated for pushing the boundaries of jewellery design. In 2005, Shaun released his first full Diamond Collection in celebration of his 20th year in the Jewellery industry. In 2006, he was awarded UK Luxury Jeweller of the Year. In the same year, Shaun was granted Freemanship of the City of London for his contribution to the UK Jewellery Industry. Four years after setting up his own business, Shaun began an exciting partnership with Alexander McQueen. Over the past nine years, they have collaborated on increasingly large and elaborate body sculptures that have become celebrated showpieces.

JEWEL: SAKUYA
This piece is named after a beautiful goddess who was referred to in the oldest history book “Kojiki” written in 712 AD. The Japanese word for cherry blossom is “Sakura” is derived from the name of this princess and is indicative of the piece colour.

CORTO MOLTEDO
Born in New York in 1977, Gabriele Corto Moltedo spent his childhood between New York, Paris and the Venetian countryside. His parents were the founders of Bottega Veneta, the world renowned leather goods brand, and from the age of fourteen, he spent his summer holidays in the factory, learning the skills demanded to produce exquisitely crafted handbags. Having graduated with an art history degree from New York University, and a Master’s degree in Communications from Emerson College, Moltedo set up his own studio in the Veneto region in Italy, designing and making bags under his own label, Corto Moltedo. The first collection was launched in March 2004. He now shares his time between his design base in Paris and the studio in the Veneto.

JEWEL 1: LITTLE BEAVER
The dramatic American Indian feather and crystal headdress is inspired by Corto Moltedo’s longing to return to America. He has always been fascinated by Native American princesses, and remembered a comic strip called "Red Ryder", in which one of the characters, a little Native American Indian sidekick, was called Little Beaver.
“Working with Swarovski crystal was a lot of fun. It's amazing how a bag of crystals can completely change the feeling of a design. So much more rock and roll - yet still completely natural.”

JEWEL 2: SHAR-ONE-STONE
The ancient Samurai warriors of pre-industrial Japan have provided the inspiration for Moltedo’s most recent contribution to the London Runway Rocks show. The layers of armour, which such warriors wore, will be recreated with the use of the CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements chandelier pieces.

JULIEN MACDONALD
Julien Macdonald has enjoyed an already long and distinguished career as a designer. Following his graduation from the RCA in June 1996 he swiftly became head designer of all knits at Chanel before joining Givenchy in 2001 where he remained for a further three years. His achievements did not go unrecognized and in November 2006, Macdonald received an OBE for his services to the fashion industry. In 2007 he brokered a deal with Jamey Hargreaves to build the Julien Macdonald business into a glamorous British luxury brand and in the process his gowns have seduced a chorus of international starlets. His awards also include British Glamour Designer of the Year 2001 & 2003 and GQ Men of the Year Awards 2003.

JEWEL: ENCHANTED FOREST
Macdonald’s intention was to make his outfit “sophisticated, expensive and seductive whilst dripping with new Swarvoski crystals.” As he says “I have always loved working with these, they can provide the most subtle sparkle or the most intense opulence whenever I need it.”

HANNAH MARTIN
During her time at Central St Martins studying Jewellery Design, Hannah worked with Cartier, Aimee McWilliams and Givenchy to name but a few. Following her graduation from college in 2005, she founded Hannah Martin Ltd before collaborating also with Johnny Rocket, The Darkness, Julien Macdonald and Fender. In the same year 2006, she joined with Licentious to assist in their production of the British menswear label and by 2007 she had been nominated as a finalist for the UK Jewellery Awards of Jewellery Designer of the Year and Luxury Jewellery of the Year. Her exclusive collection Hannah Martin for CoCo de Mer launched in 2007, is available in London and LA stores. She has ongoing collaborations with Jimmie Martin, Jean Pierre Braganza for Karl Lagerfeld, Hannah Marshall and Qasimi. One of Martin’s latest launches of her brand new silver collection line is entitled “The Only Performance.”

JEWEL: PEARL FETISH
For this piece Hannah was inspired by the feelings evoked by her obsessive fascination with pearls, coupled with the discovery of an image by early fetish photographer, John Willie. “This piece was intended to capture the spirit of private worlds of personal luxury that we may or may not wish to expose ourselves to.” At once both innocent and suggestive, “Pearl Fetish” mixes luxury, beauty and elegance with darker, more sinister connotations. Like Willie’s photographs, this piece exposes its subject, binds her and restricts her, but with a richness and intrigue, veiling the undertones of aggression behind a deep, opulence.” Martin comments also that “discovering CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements has been somewhat of a miracle for me. They are wonderfully decadent, the touch and the weight of them making hem a joy to work with…an interesting adventure into a new form of material and I have enjoyed the experience enormously.”

NUSCH
With a degree from St Martin’s School of Art attained in 1991, Clare Corrigan began her career as a Designer in RTW and Couture in Paris and is now currently working on the Marc Jacobs Homeware Collection launched in 2003. Prior to this she has had extensive experience as head designer to Lagerfeld between 1994 and 1996 and assistant designer to Thierry Mugler between 1992 and 1993. Although based in London, Corrigan also travels between Prague, New York and Paris with a strong involvement in alternative projects such as curating, writing and research. Corrigan’s signature collection Nusch is available in Browns, London and Colette, Paris.

JEWEL: NUSCH NO. 1 CLUTCH
In Corrigan’s words, her inspiration has been the “fine jewellery and couture accessories from the 1940s. The final piece will combine high technology crystals with natural minerals such as rose quartz and rock crystal. Her juxtaposition of the metal against the bright crystals will create a couture piece with modern opulence and boldness.”

MR PEARL
Mr Pearl was born in Johannesburg RSA in 1961. After studying Fine Art and Ballet he moved to England in 1980, designing and creating costumes for the chorographer Matthew Hawkins from 1982 to 2004. He embarked on his speciality of corsetry and embroidery in 1982, and around the same time created outfits for the New York hostess Suzanne Bartsch. This lead to a collaboration with Thierry Mugler from 1991 to 2008 and from there Mr Pearl went on to participate in the Haute Couture shows of Christian Lacroix, Givenchy, John Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier. Mr Pearl has also worked for Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Philip Treacy and Hussein Chalayan. His private clients have included Jerry Hall, Kylie Minogue and Dita von Teese. Based in Paris, Mr Pearl offers an exclusive made-to-measure service for creations inspired by corsetry and embroidery.

JEWEL: EARTHLY PARADISE
Mr Pearl’s inspiration for his Runway Rocks corset is the opulence of India and the lavish jewels of the Maharajas.

JOHNNY ROCKET
Australian-born John Pearce trained as a fine jeweller, and having travelled the world, set up his own design studio in London’s Hoxton area more than a decade ago. Famous for his heavyweight handmade pieces, Rocket abandoned conventional silversmith work to produce hard-edged, urban and provocative fashion-directed jewellery under his own label, Johnny Rocket. From this has sprung his ongoing relationship with celebrities, music industry leaders, notably Kylie Minogue, and top fashion designers, including Julien Macdonald, for whom Johnny Rocket has created show stopping catwalk jewellery. In 2005 Johnny Rocket opened his own jewellery gallery in Greenwich.

JEWEL: LOVE HURTS
Johnny Rocket portrays Swarovski as the heroine of this dress whilst encompassing its own signature style. Derived from the history of body adornment and decoration, this piece takes inspiration from tattoo styles from ethnic and tribal sources, as well as mirroring the current revival of sailor style body art. This garment refreshingly epitomises couture jewellery, design and fantasy. The crystal skin transfers applied to the model’s limbs and torso create the illusion that the jewellery is almost attached to her skin, like a tattoo. Like a tattoo, jewellery is often worn for life and this piece exaggerates these notions and presents them to you with arresting glamour and audacious connotations.

Of Swarovski, Rocket notes “working with CRYSTALLIZED™ - Swarovski Elements, has always enthralled me; each piece is scintillating perfection, produced by the ingenuity and technological geniuses based in Wattens. The endless new creations surging forth from the mysterious source in Austria, enhances the luxury of their creations for me.” Johnny has worked with Cookson Gold for his piece. “Cookson's tarnish resistant Brilliante Silver and Swarovski’s endless catalogue of new products, give us the opportunity to remain in the paragon of catwalk creators”

RODRIGO OTAZU
Born in Buenos Aires, Rodrigo Otazu travelled the world before opening his first studio in Amsterdam and has designed couture pieces for Christian Dior, Mart Visser and Rans Molenaar, Rifat Ozbek and more recently Christian Lacroix. He has a prêt a porter fashion jewellery collection, characterised by explosive colours and elaborate forms, and also now designs his own diamond jewellery collection. Otazu is a global brand and is now available worldwide. His work symbolises his passion for life and his all consuming desire to enhance the natural beauty of men and women.

JEWEL: FANTASTIC
Otazu finds inspiration in his travels worldwide, in natural style and also in beauty. By doing so he creates innovative and imaginative jewellery and accessories that transcend rends and become timeless pieces to cherish. With this piece, Otazu aims to encapsulate difference and uniqueness whilst ensuring it still has lots of class

MARIOS SCHWAB
After graduating with distinction from Berlin and having won Best Student Award from Esmond, Schwab continued his education at Central St Martins in 2003. He now lives in London and launched his own label in 2005. Having shown his pieces for two seasons with Fashion East, Schwab debuted on schedule at London Fashion Week for Spring Summer 2007 to high critical acclaim, where he continues to show. His Spring Summer 2008 show was chose as one of the top ten shows of the season by Style.com. Schwab was awarded Best New Designer at the Fashion Awards in 2006 and Swiss Textiles Award in 2007.

JEWEL: COMPOSITION IN DEEP PURPLE
The piece was inspired by the topography of the internal body. “I always find it challenging and exciting to work with Swarovski crystal, taking something classically beautiful to each and every woman and translating it in to something new and unexpected.”

PIPPA SMALL
Designer jeweller, Pippa Small has an unusual academic background in medical anthropology and has studied, researched and worked in many remote communities around the world. More recently she has been initiating design projects amongst indigenous peoples, nurturing and promoting fair trade, and working with local women and sometimes men on age-old traditional crafts, which she then introduces to the West. Pippa also has a varied and colourful design background having had her own label for many years, and having worked with Tom Ford for Gucci, Chloe, Dosa, Nicole Farhi and as a consultant for the organic, fair trade label, Bamford. Her work features beaten high karat gold and uncut gems and unusual crystals. She recently opened her first shop, in London’s Notting Hill, incorporating a space where she hopes to design and make her jewellery, as well as showing her collection and planning and exhibiting new projects from around the world.

JEWEL: KOH I NOOR DREAMS
For her first Runway Rocks creation, Pippa is inspired by rough minerals and rocks, organic forms and plant life as well as by ancient and classical designs.

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