Ornella IANNUZZI

Ornella Iannuzzi is an award-winning artist jeweller creating mainly one-of-a-kind pieces of high end jewellery. Using a wide range of natural and precious materials, her work is characterised by harmonious composition of colours and textures, with a certain attraction for the unusual. She creates complex and sculptural eye-catching shapes that appear to have occurred naturally. Unusual settings are her forte and each suits the featured gem which can be cut, rough or hand-carved. Her style is highly distinctive & powerful and it combines the souls of high fashion and avant-garde into incredibly adventurous pieces that are decidedly individualistic and dramatic.

“French jeweller Ornella Iannuzzi is unlike other jewellers. While many say they are inspired by nature, none do it quite like Ornella. Don’t expect pretty posies or girlie whips of blossom as Ornella prefers to look at the awe-inspiring, all-powerful, thundering, erupting and exploding earth-shifting forces of Nature. Born in the Alps, you can feel the raw power of Nature that must have impressed a young Ornella as she gazed at the majestic mountains that dwarf all around them. Ornella turns her fascination with the genesis of the planet into jewels that are miniature landscapes.” F.Times

 
           ornella-iannuzzi.com

Cristóbal BALENCIAGA

 

 

Born in the Basque region of Spain, Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895 - 1972) was apprenticed to a tailor from the age of 12. In 1914 he opened the House of Balenciaga in San Sebastian, where most of his clients were aristocrats. After the Spanish monarchy was deposed in the 1930s, Balenciaga moved to Paris. Here he became known for dramatic black coats and dresses which recalled Spanish fashions of the Elizabethan age.

Balenciaga was an extremely private man who gave few interviews. He is often called a 'designer's designer', since some knowledge of tailoring is needed to fully appreciate his clothes. He preferred to work with firm, stiff fabrics which gave his clothing a sculptural appearance. His 1960 sack dress was much copied by other designers.
The House of Balenciaga, typical of the Paris fashion world, had many wealthy customers. However, it was severely challenged in the 1960s, as fashionable young people bought ready-to-wear clothing instead of couture. Symbolically, Balenciaga closed down his fashion house in 1968, a year of violent political protests in Paris. Nonetheless, in training both Courrèges and Ungaro, Balenciaga continued to influence radically different 1960s fashion.


http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/c/cristobal-balenciaga/