Salt SS13 by Show Media Ltd

Alex Cayley; Isabelle Bonjean

contents

gold STaNdard Above, from left: silk-charmeuse dress embroidered with swarovski elements; ‘Ava’ bracelet in Golden shadow, Atelier swarovski by Vanessa seward

Quick Response (QR) codes can be found throughout this issue, enabling the reader to view additional multimedia content via a smartphone. to scan the code, simply download one of the many available QR apps, such as QR Reader

13 THE CUT An edit of the latest swarovski news from around the world, opening with launches and awards events

30 THE pErfECT TEN Victoria’s secret’s 10th-anniversary runway show celebrates a decade of deliciously decadent lingerie

14 NEWS swarovski adorns pop royalty, plus cutting-edge art, the crystal + Lucy Awards and Salt for the iPad

32 SHakESpEarE’S riC H jEWEl swarovski entertainment’s ambitious ﬁrst feature ﬁlm: a new take on the Bard’s Romeo and Juliet

18 fabUloUS aT fifTEEN Designer and swarovski collaborator Matthew Williamson marks his label’s milestone birthday

34 WE arE THE World A showcase of ﬁve swarovski-inspired designers from Indonesia, Italy, spain, Brazil and china

20 pUTTiNg oN THE gliTz shanghai’s spectacular Sparkling Secrets exhibition charts swarovski’s fascinating heritage

36 miSSioN aCCompliSHEd the latest James Bond blockbuster, Skyfall, sees swarovski once again assuming a starring role

22 THE NExT STEp nicholas Kirkwood’s leap from designing footwear to creating a jewelry line for Atelier swarovski

39 TrENd Talk What’s on the runway this season: cropped jackets, hard lines, bold prints, and black, white and blue

24 NEWS Art down under, jewelry by Zoë Kravitz, swarovski at the olympics, designer helmets and cafe Kristall

41 a CUT abovE the lasting legacy left by Daniel swarovski – not only to his company, but to an entire community

26 SUpEr mario the world’s best fashion photographer, Mario testino, is fêted in two new exhibitions of his work

42 Sm all World Denim dynamos Diesel collaborate with swarovski on a capsule children’s wear collection

28 doWNToN dazzlES How a British television drama and its breathtaking wardrobe captivated audiences around the world

4 4 THE goldE N girl swarovski cFDA Womenswear Award-winner Joseph Altuzarra’s crystal-encrusted designs

Graeme Montgomery; Damon Baker; © David Levene 2012

CoNTENTS

clear-cut wInners Above, from left: Swarovski Elements’ new Lemon Fancy Stone; Swarovski crystal-mesh brocade dress, Mary Katrantzou; ‘Pandora’ by Fredrikson Stallard

54 BIG In Be IjInG Nadja Swarovski charts China’s dramatic changes, observed during her recent visit, and looks forward to future intercontinental collaborations

82 lIt tle By lIt tle Small wonder – with perfect timing, Swarovski has lent its signature sparkle to the rapidly expanding luxury children’s wear market

58 e ast me e ts west Vogue China‘s Editor-in-Chief, Angelica Cheung, in conversation with Nadja Swarovski

86 the a te a m Show-stopping creations for the new season by the design world’s ﬁnest creatives, in collaboration with Swarovski

6 0 art Be at With its support of exhibitions honoring the architect Louis Kahn’s poetic use of light and French artist du jour, Fabrice Hyber, Swarovski has culture at its heart

96 haute tIc ke t The Parisian exhibition that pays homage to those who contribute to the intricate craft of making exquisite clothes

6 4 shoe shIne The shimmering Sparkling Contrasts shoe collection created especially for Swarovski by the world’s foremost footwear designers

101 fac e ts of a wom an A celebration in fashion of the female of the species – in all her fabulous forms

6 6 sunke n tre asure Spectacular jewelry for spring/summer 2013, featuring crystal in surprising new guises

110 m any sple ndore d thInGs The very latest exciting innovations in crystal shapes and shades, courtesy of Swarovski Elements

74 dIGItal re volutIon Swarovski’s landmark exhibition at London’s Design Museum explores the meaning of memory in the digital age

12 0 swarovskI stoc kIsts Swarovski store locations and company contact details worldwide

78 hat trIc ks Mad hatter Philip Treacy showcases his trademark eccentricity on the runway and designs a line of head-turning jewels for Atelier Swarovski

122 c rystal Ga zInG The amazing animation that shares the secret of how crystals form over millennia – in just three minutes

JIMMYCHOO.COM

welcome to salt

welcome to the spring/summer 2013 issue of Salt. In each edition, we aim to shine a light on how swarovski elements are embraced by the worlds of fashion, jewelry, architecture, art, design, film and stage. this season, we are honored to be working with creative talents as diverse as the legendary hat maker Philip treacy, film director and oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, and influential contemporary artist Fabrice Hyber. all these exciting initiatives are brought to life in the following pages. swarovski has a long history of collaborating with many of the world’s most innovative and artistic talents, and 2013 is proving to be another extraordinarily creative year. In this issue of Salt, we celebrate our new work with contemporary children’s wear designers, who beautifully demonstrate how swarovski elements can be used in fresh, unexpected ways; there is a look at our ongoing support of leading cultural institutions and our entry into film production; and Nadja’s interview with angelica cheung – the influential editor-in-chief of the groundbreaking Vogue China, whom she met during a recent visit to Beijing – in which angelica exclusively reveals her insights into the future of fashion in her rapidly changing country. we do hope you enjoy our latest edition and find things within it to interest and inspire you, just as we are constantly energized and spurred on by our creative partnerships. we’re also thrilled to report the ongoing success of the Salt magazine iPad app, which keeps you up to date between issues with exclusive film footage, interviews and photography. If you haven’t already, why not download it from itunes today?

Nadja swarovski and markus langes-swarovski Members of the Executive Board, Swarovski Crystal Business

contributors

celebrating sWAroVsKi ELEMEnts VoL.6

A lex C Ay ley Photogr A Ph er

CAtheriNe NeWell-hANSoN St y liSt

iSA belle boNj e A N Photogr A Ph er

DA moN bA k er Photogr A Ph er

Alex cayley’s striking images, combining strong composition and impeccable technique, have gained him an impressive roster of global magazine and advertising clients. He has shot for the likes of Vogue Italia, Harper’s Bazaar and GQ, and worked on campaigns for staint Laurent, Lacroix and ungaro, to name

catherine newell-Hanson is a british stylist now based in new York’s chinatown. Having enjoyed a fouryear stint at V Magazine as fashion and market editor, she has since launched a successful freelance career. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Elle and The Wall Street Journal, among other publications of note.

isabelle bonjean’s plaudits include a silver medal from the society of Publication Designers and a Jasmine Award for beauty photography. she contributes to magazines such as Vogue Gioiello, Citizen K, Surface and Gloss and has shot campaigns for luxury brands that include boucheron, cartier, Louis Vuitton and chanel.

Damon baker’s extensive photographic portfolio ranges from editorial to portraiture. He has shot for the likes of Vanity Fair, i-D, Stern and InStyle, and his celebrity roll-call includes musicians rita ora, Ellie Goulding, Lianne La Havas and Mark ronson, and supermodels Agyness Deyn, candice Hufﬁne and Lily cole.

N iCk Sm ith W r iter

em m A o’k elly W r iter

broN W y N CoSgr Av e W r iter

A N N e v yA litSy NA moDel

A former editor of Geographical and a fellow of the Explorers club and the royal Geographical society, nick smith is both a writer and photographer. He contributes to The Daily Telegraph, Literary Review and The Wall Street Journal, and his most recent tome, Travels in the World of Books, was published to great acclaim.

Emma o’Kelly has wor ked at Wallpaper* for almost a decade. now the publication’s editor-at-large, she writes about a variety of subjects including design, architecture, fashion and art. she is currently renovating a wreck of a house near Hampstead Heath, London, and documenting the transformation process in a blog.

bronwyn cosgrave is an author specialising in fashion history. As a style commentator, she contributes to leading international publications such as british Vogue and Vanity Fair. she has made numerous appearances on bbc radio, and her latest book, Vogue on Coco Chanel, became a best-seller when it was published in september.

Anne Vyalitsyna, known as Anne V, is a russian supermodel best known for her ongoing eight-consecutive-year run of appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. she makes her acting debut in the new Die Hard movie, A Good Day To Die Hard, and is an ambassador for the charity one, which works to prevent Aids worldwide.

Salt SHOW MEDIA +44 20 3222 0101, Ground Floor, 1-2 ravey street, London Ec2A 4QP info@showmedia.net, www.showmedia.net

SWArOvSkI COrPOrAtE COMMunICAtIOnS AnD DESIgn SErvICES Member of the Executive Board nadja swarovski Communications Directors Pascale Montaner and saskia sissons SWArOvSkI ELEMEntS Executive vice President of Marketing christoph Kargruber Senior Pr and Communications Manager Vera Klotz vP Brand Management & B2C Communication carina Ertl Salt is published in chinese, English and Japanese. translation by Etymax; www.etymax.com colour reproduction by FMG; www.groupfmg.com. Printing by samson Druck GmbH

Editor-in-Chief Peter Howarth Creative Director ian Pendleton Editorial Director Joanne Glasbey Managing Editor Abby rawlinson Art Director Dominic bell Designer Jo Murray Picture Director Juliette Hedoin Chief Copy Editor chris Madigan Deputy Chief Copy Editor Gill Wing Copy Editors cate Langmuir, tanya Jackson

Salt is published on behalf of swarovski AG, Droeschistraße 15, 9495 triesen, Principality of Liechtenstein, by show Media. © 2013 swarovski AG. All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

SOCIAL DIARY

THE 01

CUT 04

a sTEll ar linE-Up

01 Valentino at the premiere of the film Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has To Travel, at MOMa, new York, hosted by swarovski. 02 Tommy Hilfiger with his daughter ally at the Diana Vreeland film screening.

05 Emeli sandé at the party for the premiere of Skyfall, on which swarovski collaborated, Tate Modern, london.

From New York aNd BostoN to Paris, LoNdoN aNd BeijiNg, swarovski was the taLk – aNd toast – oF the towN

03 Terence Conran and his sister, priscilla Carluccio, at the launch of swarovski’s Digital Crystal exhibition, Design Museum, london.

06 anna Wintour, Mario Testino and Gisele Bündchen at the opening of Testino’s In Your Face exhibition, Museum of Fine arts, Boston.

04 Michelle reis at the swarovski Elements World Jewelry Facets event in Beijing.

07 poppy Delevingne and Matthew Williamson at the premiere of the ﬁlm Matthew Williamson XV, presented by swarovski, nobu, london. 08 lady Gaga at philip Treacy’s spring/summer 2013 show, royal Courts of Justice, london. 09 Josephine and Wendy Chiu at the swarovski Elements wallpaper collection launch, The pawn, Hong Kong.

10 Tess Daly sporting a spectacular atelier swarovski by Jenny Manik Mercian cuff at the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres’ autumn party at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, Knightsbridge, london. 11 Ellen von Unwerth and Fabrice Hyber at the swarovski dinner held to celebrate Hyber’s exhibition, Raw Materials, palais de Tokyo, paris.

ThE CuT lady gaga and madonna wow the world, thanks to swarovski – plus women in film’s crystal + lucy awards

totally GaGa

razzle dazzle ’em Clockwise from this picture: Lady Gaga’s crystal-bedecked costume; Madonna works the crowd in an ensemble encrusted with Swarovski Elements; Women In Film Crystal + Lucy Award-winner Meryl Streep

cinematic Gems

madonna’s maGic

Continuing its tradition of supporting the advancement of women in hollywood, Swarovski played a key role in the 2012 Women in Film Crystal + Lucy Awards. The annual gala dinner – a highlight of the Beverly hills summer season – is a celebration of outstanding female talent and achievement in the cinematic industry. Last year’s ceremony honored a number of upcoming and established female power-players, including Viola Davis, Christina Applegate and Meryl Streep. The evening was hosted by Golden Globe awardwinning actress Jenna Elfman and raised funds for Women in Film’s international educational and philanthropic programs.

No stranger to controversy, Madonna brought down the house during last year’s MDNA tour when she took to the stage cloaked in head-to-toe crystal chain mail – complete with sword – in an homage to Joan of Arc. More than 315,000 hand-sewn Swarovski Elements adorned the 700 items in the tour’s extraordinary wardrobe created by the superstar’s long-time stylist, twice-Oscar-nominated designer Arianne Phillips. This is the third collaboration between Swarovski and Phillips – a partnership that began with Madonna’s 2006 Confessions tour and continued in 2008 with her Sticky & Sweet tour. To create yet more costume twists, Phillips also worked with designers such as Desi Santiago, Erik halley and Michael Schmidt.

Born This Way Ball Tour image by Andrew Wong courtesy of Lady Gaga; Getty Images; Kevin Mazur/Wire Image

Nobody knows how to dazzle quite like boundary-pusher Lady Gaga, and the jaw-dropping costumes for her Born This Way Ball tour were no exception. Super-stylist and haus of Gaga designer Perry Meek – who has created similarly show-stopping outﬁts for Cher, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey and Tina Turner – incorporated no fewer than 63,000 Swarovski Elements into three of the singer’s dramatic looks (including this otherworldly creation, left), wowing audiences worldwide. This is the ﬁfth time that Swarovski has worked with Lady Gaga, having collaborated on designs for the ‘Paparazzi’ video and her appearances on American Idol and at the MTV Awards.

ThE cuT swarovski lights up the landscape, shares a skater’s victory and adorns garments from rome to mecca

in their eLeMent

bear neceSSitieS

Vietnamese-born landscape artist Andy cao and French landscape designer Xavier Perrot of cao|Perrot Studio, are best known for their contemporary, other-worldly creations, which blend art and landscape, dreams and reality. Swarovski Elements recently collaborated with the pair, adding a crystalline brilliance to two of their new installations, one in the united States and the other in France. The ‘cloud Terrace’ in Washington Dc is a dramatic, hand-sculpted wire-mesh cloud embellished with 10,000 glistening crystals in the shape of raindrops. The ‘White Dome’, in Beauvais, meanwhile, is a shimmering cupola composed of thousands of Swarovski Elements resembling a shower of light. caoperrotstudio.com

Last November, 19 designer Pudsey Bears raised £152,000 for BBc charity children in Need at a christie’s auction in London. Swarovski collaborated on a Pudsey Bear for the second time, this year with designer and longstanding Swarovski collective member Giles Deacon. The bear was encrusted with multi-colored Swarovski Elements and attracted the highest bid of the night. It beat world-famous fashion designers – including Prada, Tom Ford, Louis Vuitton and Burberry – to the top spot when Brazilian Victoria’s Secret model Isabeli Fontana bid an impressive £24,000 to take the bear home.

This page from top: ‘cloud Terrace’ by cao|Perrot Studio; Pudsey Bear by Giles Deacon in partnership with Swarovski. Opposite, clockwise from top left: Ice skater carolina Kostner illuminated with crystals; crystal-embellished abaya from Abaya Sharqiaa; dress by Fausto Sarli with a pin made with Swarovski Elements for AltaRomAltaModa 2012; Salt’s iPad app

To watch a ﬁlm about the making of ‘cloud Terrace’ and ‘White Dome’, simply scan the QR code above

ThE cuT

Star in the eaSt Founded in 1988, Abaya Sharqiaa is a brand synonymous with glamour and luxury, which is why royal and celebrity clients visit from around the world to purchase its abayas (robes) and sheilas (headscarves) encrusted with Swarovski Elements. It has recently opened a store in the prestigious Abraj Al-Bait Towers – the largest mall in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. While here, be sure to gaze heavenwards: the boutique’s ceiling is adorned with thousands of sparkling Swarovski Elements in a pattern that recreates a dramatic skyscape.

dazzLing on ice World-champion ice skater carolina Kostner glided to a stylish victory in the 2011/12 season with a little help from Swarovski Elements and T-Shirt T-Shops – crystals adorned her self-designed costumes to dazzling effect as she picked up seven medals in seven competitions. One sensuous outﬁt referenced the seven deadly sins in the form of a snake pattern illuminated by Swarovski Elements, while another luminous look used a million Swarovski Elements to outline the silhouette of a dancer against a starry sky.

roMe aLLa Moda Swarovski Elements remain the style innovators’ first choice, having once again helped two designers express their creativity during AltaRomAltaModa, Rome’s Fashion Week, last July. The duo benefiting from the company’s support this time round were Fausto Sarli and Luigi Borbone. Sarli’s lunar-inspired collection of dresses in lustrous, ethereal materials features crystals in (cobalt) blue, (indigo) violet, (burnt) red and (steel) silver. Borbone’s multi-stranded work not only encompasses a capsule fashion line, but also video art and space and sound installation, all infused with light-reflecting Swarovski Elements.

AFP/Getty Images; Salvatore Dragone

SaLt for the iPad Last autumn, Swarovski launched Salt for the iPad. The exciting new app features highlights from Salt magazine as well as exclusive films and interactive content showcasing Swarovski’s collaborations with international artists and designers. The app is updated weekly with the latest news of the company’s creative collaborations and the diverse use of Swarovski Elements in fashion, jewelry, art, design and film. Stories can be archived to read offline and also be shared via email and social-media channels. The Salt app is free to download from the iTunes store.

ThE cuT

FABuLOuS AT FIFTEEN Matthew williaMson and swarovski Mark the Milestone anniversary of the flourishing british fashion house with an exclusive capsule collection and a celebratory filM WORds: ROSIE STEER

Teenagers sometimes have a bad reputation, but Matthew Williamson’s namesake fashion label, which celebrated its 15th birthday last November, has blossomed into a thoroughly mature and well-adjusted adolescent. Now widely regarded as one of Britain’s foremost designers, he has won many high-proﬁle fans around the world with his ultra-feminine, embellished dresses. Williamson graduated from central Saint Martins in 1994 with a BA in Fashion Design and Printed Textiles. he went on to freelance for Marni, then Monsoon and Accessorize, before establishing his own company in 1997, with Joseph Velosa as cEO. ‘Electric Angels’, his debut collection at London Fashion Week spring/summer 1998, saw Kate Moss, helena christensen and Jade Jagger stride the runway in bias-cut dresses and separates in rich shades of tangerine and magenta. It set out his aesthetic and is now regarded as iconic. Since then, each new line has cemented his reputation as one of the world’s leading design talents. In 2007, Williamson celebrated his label’s 10th anniversary in impressive style – not only did he stage a show featuring an exclusive performance by music legend Prince, but he was also honored by London’s Design Museum with a retrospective entitled Matthew Williamson – 10 Years in Fashion. And the plaudits kept coming. Nominated three times for the British Fashion Awards Designer of the Year, he won the Elle Designer of the Year in 2004, the Moët & chandon Fashion Tribute Award in 2005 and the Red carpet Designer of the Year in 2008.

Anniversary collection

That same year, Williamson launched a collection of jewelry for Atelier Swarovski. Featuring fabulous statement cuffs, necklaces and clutch bags, it was inspired by his love of prints and geometric shapes. Each piece consisted of handmade resin shapes finely edged in gold and adorned with bold, architectural crystals in bright hues.

01.

02.

To celebrate his latest milestone anniversary, Swarovski has collaborated with him on a short film, Matthew Williamson XV. It features the designer and a cast of models and muses that includes Sienna Miller, Sarah Ann Macklin, Valentine Fillol-cordier and Poppy Delevingne wearing his creations. Shot at Aynhoe Park in Oxfordshire, it also stars dancers from the Royal Ballet sporting pieces from the Williamson archive as they glide through the empty country manor in gusts of color and fabric on a journey symbolizing the creative process. By contrast with the beautiful choreography, the film includes a tongue-in-cheek flashback sequence showing a 15-year-old Williamson lookalike dreaming of a future career in the world of fashion before being abruptly wakened by his mother, played by Andrea Riseborough (of Shadow Dancer fame). Miller, Delevingne and Fillol-cordier dazzle in the three anniversary dresses made especially for the film. Based on archive designs and embellished with Swarovski Elements, the capsule collection is available exclusively at Net-a-porter.com. It also includes opulent leather and suede clutch bags in sumptuous colors and decorated with dazzling Swarovski Elements, beads, feathers and sequins.

In 2007, Swarovski collaborated with the designer for the first time to create a stunning christmas window display for Selfridges on Oxford Street in London. The theme was ‘Bejewelled’ and a total of 1,749,600 crystals were used to create a breathtaking display featuring two key looks from the ‘Electric Angels’ collection that had been reworked and adorned with Swarovski Elements. Since then, the company has worked with Williamson on numerous occasions. In autumn/winter 2010 he was part of the Swarovski collective, which was created in 1999, following Nadja Swarovski’s collaboration with Isabella Blow and a young

Alexander McQueen. In the past 13 years, more than 150 emerging and established designers have been supported in producing some of the most groundbreaking and memorable fashion looks ever created.

03.

bIRthday suIte 01. Printed silk and feather dress. 02. from left: Suede and feather clutch bag and metallic-leather clutch bag. 03. Silk-chiffon dress. All embellished with Swarovski Elements

Last October, fashion’s finest, including Tallulah harlech and Yasmin Le Bon – all paying affectionate homage to the designer by wearing his creations – gathered in London for a special screening of his ﬁlm, followed by a cocktail party. When asked what he viewed as the highlight of his career, Williamson replied, ‘Well, there have been a lot of memorable moments, but tonight is deﬁnitely up there.’ here’s to the next decade and a half.

ThE cuT GIRL ON FILM Poppy Delevingne, wearing Matthew Williamson’s Swarovski-encrusted ‘Peacock’ gown from his limited-edition collection for Net-a-Porter

ThE cuT

PuTTING oN ThE GLITz when it comes to staging a spectacular show, swarovski is a seasoned expert, and the recent sparkling secrets exhibition in shanghai proved no exception Words: JoSh SIMS

Most halls of Fame comprise little more than a few signed photos and a couple of plaques. But not Swarovski’s. here, visitors are welcomed by a jubilant crowd applauding an array of stars. And not just current luminaries such as charlize Theron, Madonna or Penélope cruz, either – Swarovski goes one better. We see reinterpretations of Judy Garland’s iconic ruby slippers, created by some of the world’s top shoe designers, including Alberta Ferretti, christian Louboutin and Sergio Rossi. These were the stellar talents behind the one-off designs made with Swarovski Elements for the 70th-anniversary Wizard of Oz™ RuBY SLIPPER™ collection in 2009.

christian Dior and Elsa Schiaparelli to its partnerships with the world’s best designers. For the ﬁrst time in its long heritage, visitors were treated to intimate glimpses of Swarovski’s best-kept secrets. ‘Swarovski has such a rich history in crystal-faceting expertise, such amazing colors and unique techniques,’ explains Nathalie colin, Vice President and creative Director, consumer Goods Business. ‘My motto is to reﬂect this in the collections, but with a twist of modernity. I wanted to express that in the exhibition, too, and the results are extraordinary.’ Naturally, the real stars of this show are the crystals themselves, in the setting of what cultural Director carla Rumler says is a ‘truly magical brand journey that celebrates Swarovski in all its many facets’.‘Even as an insider,’ she reveals, ‘I was totally surprised by what the company has achieved and how broad its

This is just one of the more immersive sections of Swarovski’s Sparkling Secrets exhibition, held at the Shanghai Trade center last July and set to tour internationally. It traces the company’s beginnings in 1895, through its associations with coco chanel,

For ﬁlm footage of the exhibition, simply scan the QR code above

ThE cuT

approach has been. We’re really proud to showcase the diversity of our expertise.’ Rumler describes the exhibition as ‘more of an interactive experience, with installations, graphics, lighting displays and lasers, so visitors can use their imagination to create their own picture of Swarovski.’ And, of course, crystals lend themselves to the spectacular – the show takes you past crystal curtains through a multi-sensory maze, down a tunnel, under Italamp’s giant Eighties chandelier, into a re-creation of Nathalie colin’s design studio and, ﬁnally, to a display of dazzling clothing. Expect couture by Balmain, Giorgio Armani, hussein chalayan, Roberto cavalli, christian Lacroix, Salvatore Ferragamo and Atelier Versace, as well as gowns made for screen and stage, including those from The Phantom of the Opera and Sex and the City.

‘There are a lot of high-value pieces in the exhibition, and some of huge historical importance,’ adds Rumler.

‘Innovation is Swarovski’s motor – without it, the brand wouldn’t be where it is now’

shining examples Opposite: The crystal Tunnel and honeycomb Wall. This page: The hall of Fashion

however, all this glamour does not swamp the technical rigor that underpins it – from the company’s founding by Daniel Swarovski, inventor of the ﬁrst machine for cutting and polishing crystal, to the shimmering Aurora Borealis effect developed by Swarovski in the late-Fifties and used by christian Dior in its collections. ‘Innovation is Swarovski’s motor – without it, it wouldn’t be where it is now,’ says Rumler. ‘Technology has allowed us to create elements that add poetry and elegant sparkle to the world of fashion and design,’ she continues. The Sparkling Secrets exhibition shows there’s always more to Swarovski than you might expect.’

Josh Sims writes for Esquire and Wallpaper*

THE cuT

THE NExT STEP not content with winning awards as a shoe designer, nicholas kirkwood has collaborated with atelier swarovski on a collection of show-stopping jewelry Words: L AuREN MILLIgAN

Names such as Louboutin, Blahnik and choo have dominated the footwear landscape for so long, it’s hard to imagine anyone joining or – whisper it – even eclipsing them some day, but one unassuming British talent is certainly giving it a go. Quietly honing his craft since 2004, Nicholas Kirkwood has seen his shoe line’s popularity explode, with high-profile collaborations and well-timed store openings putting him in a position to contend with the big boys.

2008, he was accorded the Swarovski Emerging Talent prize at the British Fashion Awards and was nominated for the 2012 BFc/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund, positioning him not only as the runway designers’ shoemaker of choice but their equal. Having used its jewels to adorn his early collections, Kirkwood has been eager to ﬁnd new ways to utilize Swarovski Elements. Last year, he teamed up with the company to create a spectacular, one-off pair of glittering heels to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee, and in 2011, he designed a limitededition collection inspired by legendary New York pop artist Keith Haring that included crystalencrusted, thigh-high roller-skate boots.

Having begun his fashion education working for legendary milliner Philip Treacy, Kirkwood undertook a footwear degree at cordwainers and was soon applying the same quirky, artisanal aesthetic evident in Treacy’s hats to his shoe designs. He shares, with Treacy and Alexander McQueen, the accolade of having been championed by the late Isabella Blow, even lodging with the fashion editor while he found his feet – and she was seldom wrong about talent.

Kirkwood has recently collaborated with Atelier Swarovski for the second time on the creation of a contemporary jewelry collection for spring/summer 2013. The necklaces, cuffs, rings and earrings are available in silver with blue opalescent crystals, gold with bronze topaz crystals and gunmetal with jet crystals. Softened by leather and edged with pavé crystals, their lines are a blend of sharp and sinuous.

Kirkwood quickly garnered critical acclaim, resulting in what is a rare acquisition for even the most famous shoe designers: the opening of a stand-alone store. A boutique in London’s Mount Street was followed by two more – in New York’s Meatpacking District and at Hong Kong’s On Pedder at Joyce. Rodarte, Peter Pilotto and Erdem, among others, have called on him to create shoes tailored speciﬁcally for their shows. Whether featuring hand-painted ﬂorals for Erdem, or taking the form of illuminated heels for Rodarte, every pair retains Kirkwood’s signature style. In recognition of those prestigious partnerships, in

no mean feet Top, clockwise from bottom left: Atelier Swarovski by Nicholas Kirkwood Jet Hem spiral ring and cuff; and Light Rose cuff and spiral ring. Above: Nicholas Kirkwood

The quiet man of the shoe world may not relish the prospect of taking on its giants, but, with a little help from his fashion friends, he may already be giving them a few sleepless nights.

The Atelier Swarovski by Nicholas Kirkwood collection is available at atelierswarovski.com. Lauren Milligan writes for vogueuk.com

ThE CuT crystal-encrusted sculpture, innovative new lines, swarovski at the olympics and cafe kristall

SILEnCE IS gOLdEn When the new-look hamer hall Arts Centre, Melbourne’s premier concert venue, reopened in July, visitors were treated to a mesmerizing sight. Suspended at varying heights from the ceiling above the entrance foyer hung seven stainless-steel sculptures made with a staggering 62,000 Swarovski Elements, creating an eye-catching spectacle. The installation, named ‘Silence’ and now part of a permanent exhibition, is a collaboration between Swarovski and internationally renowned artist Robert Owen, who says, ‘The clarity and brilliance of Swarovski Elements ensured a wonderful, immersive experience.’

COOL JEWELS

AHEAd Of THE gAME

Zoë Kravitz is very much the daughter of her musician father Lenny – as shown by the eclectic rock-chick style she has lent to an exclusive jewelry collection designed in collaboration with Swarovski Crystallized™. The beautifully crafted line, inspired by traditional Native American adornment, incorporates the colors of Zoe’s birthstones, turquoise and tanzanite, set off by sparkling Swarovski Elements. The three styles of bracelet and four necklaces each feature a delicate leaf shape engraved with her signature and can be paired with a matching ring and earrings for a laid-back look. The collection will be available this spring exclusively at Swarovski Crystallized™ concept stores in New York and London.

helmets might not seem to offer much of an opportunity for style innovation, but, with a little Swarovski sparkle, what was once a simple matter of necessity has been transformed into a must-have accessory. Acclaimed brands, such as Andrea Cardone, Kask, New Max, Tonino Lamborghini and Vespa from Italy; Nexx from Portugal; Samshield from France; Yakkay from Denmark; and Casco from Germany, have created innovative designs. Tailored to the different needs of motorbike riding, cycling, horseback riding and skiing, these once-functional items now ooze sophisticated glamour. They are available to purchase via each of the brands’ distribution networks. View them at pinterest.com/ swarovski/heavenly-helmets

Adrian Wilson; Nick Knight/Trunk Archive; Wire Image

ThE CuT

STELLA dAzzLES AT THE OLYMPICS With the London Olympics all about celebrating the ﬁnest talent, it was ﬁtting that Swarovski stole the show at the closing ceremony, which saw supermodel Stella Tennant sparkle in a specially commissioned gold Swarovski crystal-mesh suit. In a long tradition of celebrating talent in the arts and fashion, the company once

again supported much-fêted designer Christopher Kane – on this occasion to create a glamorous ensemble he described as ‘a bit Ziggy Stardust, a bit David Bowie and slightly retro’. The world’s press clamored to photograph the stunning suit, which was shot for an exclusive double-page spread in British Vogue.

rELAx In STYLE

way to glow Opposite, from top: ‘Silence’ by Robert Owen; Casco’s embellished helmet; Swarovki jewelry collaborator Zoë Kravitz. This page, from top: Supermodel Stella Tennant in the crystal-mesh suit created for the Olympics closing ceremony; NYC’s Cafe Kristall

Swarovski’s innovative retail concept store, Swarovski Crystallized™, in Soho, New York, has welcomed Cafe Kristall to its super-chic space, which already offers exquisite collections of jewelry and accessories by renowned international designers. The cafe, created by chefs Kurt Gutenbrunner and Francis Reynard, offers a wealth of modern European cuisine and wines and provides a haven from the city’s busy streets and bustling boutiques. The ambience is luxurious – cutting-edge chandeliers from Swarovski Crystal Palace hang over the tables, artworks from Julian Schnabel’s private collection adorn the walls, and historical Austrian designs drawing on the company’s heritage have been reinterpreted in contemporary style by ﬁne artisans.

ThE cuT

SuPER MARIO MARIO TESTINO, THE WORLD’S BEST-KNOWN FASHION PHOTOGRAPHER, TALKS ABOUT THE SECRET OF HIS SUCCESS, AND HIS LATEST EXHIBITIONS, SUPPORTED BY SWAROVSKI Words: DAISY GARNETT

I recall once spending a morning in his London office while he tackled questions about project after project. During phone calls, he switched languages effortlessly; he is Peruvian, but speaks English, French, Italian and Portuguese fluently. In between, he would reel off a word-perfect introduction to a book – in this case, about Lima, where he was born – or make decisions about which pieces of work would be included in a show he was curating at the time in a New York art gallery. In fact, when I speak to Testino today, he is on holiday in Ibiza (so he does have the odd break), but there’s no doubt he’ll return home with enough material for another book, should he wish. So far, he

has 11 to his name, on subjects as diverse as royalty, Rio de Janeiro, fashion’s front row, the art scene in Lima and celebrities off duty. Testino’s latest big project is the foundation he has set up and funded in the city of his birth. MATE (Asociación Mario Testino), is a not-for-profit exhibition space and cultural centre. ‘I decided to set up the foundation after the success of my Portraits exhibition at the Lima Art Museum two years ago,’ he says. ‘The queues to see the show made me realize my work should live in my country, and I wanted to help other artists in Peru.’ Testino’s interests are extensive. he collects art, making it his business to discover new talent. he goes to degree shows and visits artists’ studios wherever he is. he has always gone to fashion shows and is well known for discovering young models: Gisele Bündchen and carolyn Murphy were both Testino finds, and Kate Moss credits him as the first photographer to see her not as a waif, but as a timeless beauty ripe with grown-up sexuality.

he and Moss still work together frequently and the two are great friends. ‘I love working with young people,’ he explains. he mentions cara Delevingne, ‘She’s like Kate and Stella [Tennant] in that she’s just got it.’ Got what? ‘This thing I ﬁnd with English girls, of just bringing so much character and humor to work and to their pictures.’ Testino arrived in London in 1976, aged 22, and enroled to study photography. Although he has always earned his living as a photographer, it took him 20 years to ﬁnd fame. ‘When I came to England,’ he remembers, ‘I tried to emulate the English because I was so impressed by their work and their style, but it wasn’t really me.’ Still, he did well enough: from his early days on, he shot fashion spreads for Tatler and Harpers & Queen. It was in the mid-Nineties that Testino really found his voice, when fashion editor (later editor of Vogue Paris) carine Roitfeld asked him why he didn’t photograph models in the same way he snapped his friends. With that, the ‘Testino Woman’ was born.

Is Mario Testino ever not working? Even a cursory look through September’s glossy magazines reveals pages and pages of his photographs, as well as advertising campaigns for, among others, Burberry, Etro, Michael Kors, Stuart Weitzman, chanel Beauty and Lancôme. But the shoots for which Testino is famous are just part of his enormous output.

ThE cuT

’I feel like a doctor who goes to the operating theater with 30 years of experience’ It is his knack of combining sex with glamour and naturalism that makes Testino so popular with his photographic subjects, whether they are hollywood movie stars or British princesses. ‘These days,’ he says, ‘I feel like a doctor who goes to the operating theater with 30 years of experience. Now I feel that I can use all the instruments of the past to get the most interesting photograph.’ Much of Testino’s best work is currently on show in two exhibitions at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston – In Your Face (till February) and British Royal Portraits (till June) – both supported by Swarovski and shoe designer Stuart Weitzman. ‘We decided to make the show very blatant about the work I do,’ he says. ‘It’s all really “in your face” – hence the name. So, instead of being laid out in traditional themes, a nude shot might be next to a high-fashion photograph, which might be alongside a snapshot or a travel photograph. Basically, the show will be like my life: constantly changing.’ I ask him if he ever gets bored with shooting girls in frocks. ‘Fashion is about change,’ he says. ‘That’s what’s made me stay in the business: the fact that it’s always moving. I’m open to everything.’

portrait gallery Opposite: Kate Moss, London, 2010. This page, from top: carmen Kass, Los Angeles, 2009; Gwyneth Paltrow, Paris, 2005

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; mfa.org. Daisy Garnett writes for The Times, The Telegraph, Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar

ThE CuT

DOWNTON DA zzLES

As the drama entered the Roaring Twenties – an era synonymous with glamour and decadence – 78,000 Swarovski Elements made their mark on a series of gorgeous outfits, adding sparkle to key scenes. In the first episode, Lady Mary Crawley (played by Michelle Dockery) wore a stunning silk bridal gown beaded with crystals and pearls. Two episodes later, similar adornments appeared on the exquisite wedding dress worn by her younger sister, Lady Edith Crawley (Laura Carmichael), whose spectacular engagement ring featured a single princess-cut crystal stone flanked by two baguette crystals.

as the most popular period drama of recent times returned to screens on both sides of the atlantic, swarovski could claim a hand in its success

Swarovski Elements also decorated the headpieces of Academy Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine’s character Martha Levinson, who swept into this series with a scene-stealing performance as the mother of Cora, the Countess of Grantham, played by Elizabeth McGovern. The show’s A-list milliner, Sean Barrett, has worked with Swarovski for many years and found the prospect of another joint project exciting and inspirational. ‘On some headdresses, the crystals and

Words: ChRIS MuGAN

stars of the screen Clockwise from top left: Lady Mary, pictured with Matthew Crawley, wearing a bridal gown encrusted with Swarovski Elements; Lady Edith in her crystal-adorned wedding dress; Martha Levinson, left, and the Countess of Grantham sparkle in period style; Martha Levinson makes an entrance in a spectacular headpiece

pearls really were the key players,’ he says. ‘In fact, the bandeaux and tiaras were so gem-encrusted they were pretty much just jewels.’ Jane Law, the series’ wedding-dress costumier, faced the challenge of designing outﬁts that were beautiful but also accurate in period detail. ‘We found some freshwater pearls and bugle beads from the Twenties, but needed something more to add to the magic of the occasion. Swarovski’s timeless crystals proved a perfect foil for the originals and we hoped they would glint as subtly and romantically on camera as they did in my studio. They didn’t disappoint.’ This is the second time Swarovski has worked with Downton’s creator Julian Fellowes, who won an Oscar for his screenplay of the similarly stately Gosford Park. The company’s film division, Swarovski Entertainment Ltd, is co-producing his upcoming ﬁlm of Romeo and Juliet. Swarovski’s relationship with the industry goes back to the early days of hollywood, when it worked with set and costume designers on movies such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and The Wizard of Oz – an expertise it still provides today for the likes of Black Swan and Mirror Mirror.

Chris Mugan writes about culture for The Guardian, The Observer and The Independent

One of the most successful shows of recent years, the Golden Globe and Emmy Award-winning Downton Abbey recently returned for a third series to TV screens on both sides of the Atlantic – and, this time, Swarovski collaborated on its costumes.

Online store www.richardjames.co.uk Shop +44 (0)207 434 0605 Bespoke +44 (0)207 287 9645

ThE cuT victoria’s secret

To see behind-thescenes footage of the show, simply scan the QR code above under wraps This picture and right: The 10th Anniversary creation, by Victoria’s Secret and Swarovski

ThE PERfEcT TEN A decAde of collAborAtion between swArovski And victoriA’s secret crescendoed lAst november in A runwAy extrAvAgAnzA – And An extrAordinAry 10th-AnniversAry outfit encrusted with crystAls words: hERMIoNE hoBy

‘So many people identify with it,’ he says. ‘And I think that’s because we do several things at once – we combine high-fashion elements and artistic concepts with music, making it an entertainment event, and deliver it all in such an accessible way that everybody feels included.’ Swarovski has been integral to the Victoria’s Secret’s show from the start. Thomas believes the two companies are ‘golden brands’, each reﬂecting and amplifying the other’s glamour and beauty. ‘It’s a perfect match,’ he says. Last November’s show,

which took place in Manhattan, had a spectacular circus theme and included performances from global superstars Justin Bieber, Rihanna and Bruno Mars. It featured more than a million Swarovski Elements, ranging from delicate beading to opulent crystals, incorporated into 14 fabulous bespoke creations. These were accessorized by Nicholas Kirkwood’s trademark fantasy footwear, theatrical jewelry by Larry Vrba and David Mandel, and crystal-accented stockings – not to mention 28 pairs of angel wings. ‘Producing the show was like making a movie,’ says Thomas. ‘We’re very cinematic in our approach. We aim to provide something compelling and sexy with an element of fantasy, but that retains a sense of humor. The brand and the lingerie itself is framed in the best way possible through a series of scenes.’ At the heart of the event was the retro Silver Screen Angels section, which the designer describes as ‘old-school hollywood meets contemporary hotness,

and quite possibly the most glamorous showcase we’ve ever created’. Its dramatic centrepiece was the 10th Anniversary creation – a dazzling, diaphanous Art Deco-inspired gold and silver outfit constructed by Barak Stribling, intricately beaded by Polly Kinney and worn by supermodel cameron Russell. Inspired by what Thomas calls ‘that gorgeous, over-the-top screen-siren sleekness’, it was encrusted with more Swarovski Elements than any other piece in the show, including sequins that he says were ‘the best adornment I’ve ever worked with’. ‘Swarovski has been such a major participant in adding luxurious glamour to the Victoria’s Secret shows over the years and we really wanted to celebrate that. The magnificent 10th Anniversary outfit was akin to a sculpture. In fact, you could say it was a monument to Swarovski.’

Hermione Hoby writes about culture for The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian and The Observer

Bryan Bedder/WireImage

Last year marked the 10th anniversary of Swarovski’s involvement with Victoria’s Secret – a brand partnership that designer Todd Thomas describes as a ‘no-brainer’. In the decade he has worked with the iconic lingerie brand, he has witnessed its annual fashion show evolve and grow year on year. Now, as he acknowledges, it’s become something of a pop-culture phenomenon.

SALT FOR THE IPAD updated regularly with exclusive films, news and additional photography

AVAILABLE NOW

ThE cuT

ShAkESpEARE’S RIch JEWEL swarovski entertainment’s first feature film – a sumptuous take on romeo and juliet – marks a natural evolution and a thrilling new venture for the company Words: RoB RyAN

It is one of the great dramatic openings in English literature: ‘Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona, where we lay our scene…’ And it derives, of course, from Romeo and Juliet – that oft-told tale of love across the divide. No matter that the prologue goes on to contain what modern audiences would consider a ‘spoiler’ (line six gives away the ending), it seems capable of endless reinvention – think West Side Story, Titanic, Twilight. And 2013 sees another take on the doomed lovers, set in the original Renaissance period and put together by a cast and crew of top talent, supported in no small measure by Swarovski. The seed from which the new film grew was a wonderful Italian vacation. ‘I was on holiday in Tuscany with my 16-year-old goddaughter,’ says its producer Ileen Maisel. ‘And I was stunned by the beauty of Siena and began to think of stories that could be told in such a setting. I turned to my goddaughter and said, “What about a version of Romeo and Juliet aimed at your generation?” I expected her to say, “That’s ridiculous”, but she thought it was a brilliant idea.’ For Maisel, a seasoned movie producer (Inkheart, Golden Compass), this was no idle holiday chit-chat. A fuse had been lit that would eventually burn all the way to Nadja Swarovski’s door. But first, to breakfast. ‘Julian Fellowes [writer of Gosford Park and Downton Abbey] is a dear old friend,’ says Maisel. ‘So, over breakfast at claridge’s, I asked him if he thought a teen version of Romeo and Juliet would work and if he’d be interested in writing it. And he said a very definite yes to both.’ As Fellowes later said: ‘Every generation is interested in love. I mean, there’s something about young love that’s heartbreaking.’ And none more so than the story of the capulets and the Montagues. This meeting came before the huge success of Downton Abbey, so Fellowes had time to write a script, which he and Maisel took to Nadja Swarovski, in her capacity as chairwoman of Swarovski Entertainment Ltd, whom Maisel knew was interested in collaborating on the production of the company’s first feature. Nadja, who assumed the role of Executive

ThE cuT

producer, says: ‘having worked with creative talent in costume and set design since the early days of hollywood [the long list starts with 1930’s The Blue Angel and ends with the forthcoming The Great Gatsby], the move into production was a natural evolution for Swarovski. Romeo and Juliet felt like the perfect project to deepen our involvement and collaborate with established visionaries such as Julian and Ileen as well as nurture young talent.’ With Nadja on board, the wheels didn’t so much start turning as spinning. A cast was soon ﬁnalised, with leads hailee Steinfeld from True Grit and Douglas Booth from Worried About The Boy, supported by the likes of Damian Lewis and Stellan Skarsgård, and a director, carlo carlei, appointed. Locations, finance, photography, publicity and marketing were also tackled. of course, Swarovski was still involved in the costumes: around half a million of its crystals, crystal pearls, crystal ﬁshnet, crystal yarn and gemstones were used. Visual consultant and co-producer Milena canonero, who has created costumes for

’The overall look of the ﬁlm reﬂects Swarovski’s heritage and values. It is very inspirational’

movies from Barry Lyndon to Marie Antoinette, was responsible for the overall design and concept. She says: ‘Swarovski crystals are extremely versatile and can be used in so many different ways. here, we used them to bring out the lights and colors of the Renaissance and give richness to the canvas.’ And, as Maisel adds: ‘The overall look of the film reflects Swarovski’s heritage and values – these are glamorous, beautiful clothes, all handmade, in fabulous settings, all filmed on location in Italy. It is very inspirational.’ And what will it say to its target audience? Julian Fellowes again: ‘The point about teenage love is it happens before cynicism comes in to reshape one’s attitudes. you love when you’re young in a way that you’ll probably never love again. And I think every teenager in the world would agree.’

A sTorY oF WoE Opposite: Romeo (Douglas Booth) and Juliet (hailee Steinfeld). This page, clockwise from top left: Romeo intervenes in a ﬁght between Mercutio (christian cooke) and Tybalt

(Ed Westwick); Booth takes direction from carlo carlei; Stellan Skarsgård as prince Escalus; Juliet receives the vial of poison from Friar Lawrence (paul Giamatti)

certainly, I know of two star-crossed lovers who would second that emotion. Rob Ryan writes for The Sunday Times

ThE cuT

WE ARE ThE WORLD from all corners of the globe, leading designers are using swarosvki elements to create their signature collections Words: TAMSIn cRIMMEnS IllustratIon: ELISABETh MOch

Biyan Wanaatmadja

antonio marras

Swarovski Elements supplied the sparkle for the highly anticipated runway show in Jakarta at which Indonesian designer Biyan Wanaatmadja presented his 2012/13 line. A romantic collection incorporating crystals in rich colors such as Fern Green and Golden Shadow, his designs were inspired by the notion of an enchanting secret garden in full bloom, while the magniﬁcent ﬁnale, featuring ravishing couture pieces and spectacular jewelry, glinted with Swarovski Elements. commenting on Swarovski’s contribution to the creative process, Biyan said, ‘Its poetic brilliance brings perfection to my work.’

Sardinian designer Antonio Marras was born in the small town of Alghero, where he learnt the impressive technical skills that would eventually see him showing designs at Milan Fashion Week to international acclaim. For his spring/summer 2013 collection, Marras celebrated youthful femininity with designs in peach and pink tones in his signature Sardinian folkloric style. Inspired by henry Darger’s fantasy manuscript, The Story of the Vivian Girls, he drew on the playful world of its characters to create romantic ﬂoral prints that were subtly accented with sparkling Swarovski Elements.

ThE cuT

ion Fiz

Gloria Coelho

huishan zhanG

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his ﬁrst fashion line, the Basque designer Ion Fiz partnered with long-time supporters Swarovski to create – appropriately enough – 10 stunning looks. Presenting the collection at the 2012 Madrid Fashion Week, Fiz stayed true to his design ethos of glamour and glitz with a daytime look that featured aviator sunglasses and hats, oversized bags, tulip skirts and Forties-style shirts. however, it was the eveningwear that really stole the show, with Swarovski Elementsadorned gowns in silk and satin that beautifully enhanced the feminine form.

Gloria coelho’s spring/summer 2013 collection of futuristic dresses and separates lent a minimalist note to proceedings at an otherwise colorful and crazy São Paulo Fashion Week. The collection unveiled cropped blazers, jackets and even pants inlaid with leather, silk and transparent inserts, while the ﬁnal sequence was dedicated to short dresses made from fine fabrics with applications of discrete bands in Swarovski Elements. The Brazilian designer also incorporated ultra-modern plastic into some garments, which sported rounded shoulder detailing in white, violet and smoky shades.

As one of only 12 designers selected to be part of the Swarovski collective, which gives innovative creatives free rein to use the stones as they wish, huishan Zhang has afﬁrmed his presence in the fashion community. For his spring/summer 2013 collection, Zhang adhered to a traditional chinese aesthetic, using an array of luxuriously textured fabrics, such as silk, organza and lace, but gave it a modern twist. his delicate palette of mintgreen, blush and midnight-blue hues was complemented by embellishment with sumptuous hand-embroidered crystals.

ThE cuT

MISSIOn AccOMPLIShED swarovski had a starring role in skyfall – the latest and some say greatest bond thriller of all time Words: BROnWYn cOSGRAVE

Skyfall has been described as one of the greatest James Bond ﬁlms yet made. Released to coincide with the movies’ 50th anniversary, the 23rd 007 action adventure stylishly integrates many of the hallmarks of all-time-great Bond cinematic capers – from a dazzling, death-defying stunt in which Daniel craig’s character grapples with a Shanghai hotel lift shaft (in homage to Diamonds Are Forever) to sophisticated gadgetry (1964’s Goldﬁnger’s ‘fully loaded’ Aston Martin DB5 makes a comeback) and Swarovskiembellished costumes and jewelry.

ﬁne tulle of the sleeves, neckline, back and sides of the dress, accentuating Bérénice’s exquisite ﬁgure.’

Swarovski has had a hand in beautifying Bond’s leading ladies ever since Barbara Bach sported a crystal-encrusted evening gown to portray Soviet agent XXX in 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me. And, to celebrate this historic connection – not to mention the design excellence the movies have maintained since the first, Dr. No, was released in 1962 – the company has introduced the Bond 50th Anniversary collection. This jewelry line features pieces inspired by the films’ narrative themes, so a sparkling clearcrystal pavé shell pendant, for example, references the memorable moment when Dr. No’s honey Ryder (played by ursula Andress), emerges from the surf brandishing a conch shell. A pendant and earrings, meanwhile, assume the shape of a venomous blue-ringed octopus – the personal symbol that Oscar-winning production designer Peter Lamont conceived for Maud Adams in the jewel-smuggler title role of 1983’s Octopussy. Skyfall’s femme fatale, Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe), positively shimmers with intensity, thanks to the 60,000 Swarovski Elements embellishing the striking black gown she is wearing when she encounters Daniel craig’s Bond at Shanghai’s Golden Dragon casino. The figure-hugging floor-length silk dress was inspired by the legendary strapless number Rita hayworth flaunted in the 1946 film noir classic Gilda. Its opulent adornment – a series of crystal ‘tattoos’, featuring a dragon motif – references both the movie’s setting and Sévérine’s Asian origins, explains Jany Temime, Skyfall’s costumier. ‘When I saw the beautiful crystal prints in Swarovski’s atelier in Paris, I knew immediately I wanted to create a bespoke design,’ she says. ‘We applied them to the

Although Webster is renowned as the jeweler who has crafted unique pieces for global celebrities such as Madonna and Kate Moss, Skyfall was the first time he had created jewels for a movie. While the novelty of the assignment appealed to him, he was also honored to join the hallowed ranks of the handful of London craftsmen who have had creations commissioned for the 007 thrillers. It was charles de Temple, the Mayfair society jeweler, who made the jewelry for the early Bond films, including Goldfinger, and David Morris whose work appeared in three movies after his stunning jewels were first featured in the title sequence of Diamonds Are Forever.

‘The crystal “tattoos” accentuated Bérénice’s exquisite ﬁgure’ 36

Albert R cubby Broccoli and harry Saltzman – the ﬁlm-producing partners who devised the iconic series back in the Sixties – appointed the foremost designers of costume, fashion and jewelry of the era to adorn the actresses who quickly became known and admired as Bond girls. Their aim was to translate to the screen the tangible aura of luxury that Ian Fleming had so successfully conjured up in his best-selling spy novels. Today, Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson (cubby’s daughter and stepson), are maintaining that tradition. Stephen Webster recalls with obvious pleasure his consultations with Broccoli throughout the process of crafting his Skyfall jewels. ‘It was a once-in-a lifetime opportunity,’ he admits.

Watch the behind-the-scenes Skyfall ﬁlm on Salt’s iPad magazine, available to download from the iTunes app store. Bronwyn Cosgrave writes for Vogue and Vanity Fair

Meanwhile, A-list jeweler Stephen Webster crafted jewels in black and clear crystal to complement Sévérine’s gown. Three themes inspired by the dangerous romance that develops between Bond and Sévérine – Love Knot, heat Seeker and Queen cobra – and another, Black Bamboo, prompted by the film’s chinese location, define both the set that Sévérine wears and the Skyfall collection of pendants, rings, earrings and bangles he created for Swarovski to coincide with the film’s release.

ThE cuT dark star Opposite, from top: Queen cobra double ring, heat Seeker ring and Love Knot earrings, all from the Swarovski Skyfall collection designed by Stephen Webster. This page: Sévérine, played by Bérénice Marlohe, wears a dress by Jany Temime, adorned with more than 60,000 Swarovski Elements, and Black Bamboo earrings and pendant, also from the Swarovski Skyfall collection designed by Stephen Webster

SHOP ONLINE ca m i l a k l e i n.co m.br

ThE cuT

TREND TALK cropped jackets, bold prints and blue in all its hues define this season’s fashion

Jason Lloyd-Evans

Words: SARAh DEEKS-oSbuRN

1. top of the cropS

2. true Blue

3. Go fiGure

cropped jackets dominate the new season, so keep your outerwear on trend with a boxy silhouette, cut into the waist – perfect over skinny jeans or a sophisticated shift. Chanel, spring/summer 2013

Whether it’s a deep ocean hue or a light pastel, blue should feature large in your spring wardrobe. Aquamarine makes for show-stopping eveningwear, or test the trend with royal-blue accessories. Giorgio Armani, spring/summer 2013

It’s an illusion! or at least the trend for prints is. Whether its ﬂoral, animal or geometric, ensure your patterns are intricate and eye-popping. Go boss--eyed or go home. Bottega Veneta, spring/summer 2013

4. She’S electric

5. MonochroMe

6. Gothic enchantMent

The fashion world has spoken, and romance is ofﬁcially dead. Your spring look should be bold and daring, with hard lines, architectural shapes and a clash of colors. Aquilano Rimondi, spring/summer 2013

Michael Jackson said it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white – but this season it’s imperative you wear both. Jump on the bandwagon with stripes, checks and color-blocking. No21, spring/summer 2013

A few rays of sunshine shouldn’t mean we can’t embrace a darker aesthetic in summer – just keep your gothic look whimsical with soft, sheer layers and decadent metallic details. Lanvin, spring/summer 2013

Paris

Haute Couture Hotel de Ville, Paris 2 MarcH â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 6 July 2013 adMission free

suPPorted by

ThE cuT FROM THE ARCHIVE

l asting legacy Below from left: Daniel Swarovski’s funeral procession on its way through Wattens, 1956; Daniel Swarovski in his laboratory, c1890

A cuT ABOVE SWAROVSKI’S FOUNDING FATHER WAS AS DEVOTED TO HIS cOmmUNITy AS HE WAS TO HIS cOmpANy, AND IT IS THOSE cORE VAlUES THAT THE bRAND STIll ESpOUSES TODAy

Swarovski Corporate Archive

Words: L AuRA - AnTOnIA JORDAn

‘The principle of good business is to produce highquality products at low prices. however, please do not think that we have reached a peak in terms of quality; there is still a lot of room for improvement. The only way these improvements can be made is if we all work together.’ These words were uttered by Daniel Swarovski in 1952 in a speech to commemorate his 90th birthday. That they ring true today is testament to the longevity of the industrial pioneer’s vision. Furthermore, they reveal that he possessed not only a sharp business mind but also a sense of community. While his legacy is global, there was a touching intimacy at the heart of his ambition. Swarovski was born on October 24, 1862 in Georgenthal, Bohemia (now part of the czech Republic), the ﬁrst son of Franz Anton and helene Swarovski. Raised in a family of craftspeople, he undertook an apprenticeship in metalwork, which ignited his interest for creating and inventing. In 1883, he visited the First Electrical Exhibition in

Vienna, which featured designs by the likes of Edison and Siemens. It had a profound effect on him. Always fascinated by scientific developments and technological innovations, in 1892 he patented a machine that could cut crystal with a precision that could not be achieved manually. In 1895, having settled in Wattens, Austria, Swarovski established his namesake company. Fast-forward a century and one need hardly point out how huge his legacy is today. his ambition was egalitarian: to bring the seductive sparkle of crystal to the masses. his democratic spirit went further than this, however. he was married to his wife Marie for 65 years and she bore him three sons: Wilhelm, Fritz and Alfred. But his devotedness extended beyond them to his employees and the local community of Wattens. he worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life of his workers, constructing company housing, establishing a walk-in clinic and putting in place high wages. As a member of the council, he supported the building of a church and

a school in the town, too. Yet, as that birthday speech reveals, he possessed a refreshing humility: ‘Your hard work and dedication, as well as the collaboration between my sons, have all contributed to the remarkable expansion of our business operations.’ Swarovski was a gregarious man. he socialized with his workers and was a keen violin and piano player. he loved nature and could often be seen tending to his garden with his dog Bobby at his side. Even as he lost his sight in old age, he remained an enthusiastic participant in Wattens society. When he died, aged 93, on January 23, 1956, the town went into mourning for its father ﬁgure. In 1960, a bronze statue of Swarovski was erected in Wattens, where it still stands today. It is a symbol of his values as much as his achievements and a reminder that business and family values need not be incongruous. Laura-Antonia Jordan writes for Harrods Magazine

ThE cuT INDUSTRY TALK

Small wonDEr

girl talk Denim jacket and jeans with Swarovski Elements detailing, Diesel Kid

SwarovSki and dieSel launch a Sparkling girlSwear line Words: joSh SimS

a collaboration between Swarovski, maker of delicate crystals, and Diesel, maker of rough ‘n’ tough distressed denim, might not be an obvious one. and to collaborate on a children’s wear line seems even less likely. But when the two companies met last year at Pitti Bimbo, the international children’s fashion fair in Florence, on a one-off project to customize some scaled-down denim clothes for a runway show, the reaction was so positive, Diesel decided to make a capsule collection a reality. it launched last summer. ‘The crystals and pearls add preciousness to our pieces, making them shine – features not normally associated with our collections. But it’s clear that the combination of cool design and twinkling embellishment has paid off, giving the capsule collection a strong touch of femininity,’ explains Germano Ferraro, the managing director of Diesel’s children’s wear business. Diesel is not the ﬁrst to collaborate with Swarovski. The company has worked with the likes of miss Blumarine, Byblos, Paul & joe, laura Biagotti Dolls, rykiel Enfant and richmond junior, who all chose to work with Swarovski Elements because of their superior safety standards – they are created from lead-free advanced crystal – and the extraordinary variety of surfaces, effects and colors.

‘Girls love crystals, especially when they’re subtly scattered, as they are on the jacket we designed,’ Ferraro continues. ‘in that instance, 2,000 crystals and pearls were applied by hand to create the dazzling image of a mohican. i think this piece best represents the way Diesel gave a rock‘n’roll twist to the preciousness of the Swarovski Elements detailing,’ he says, noting that, to keep the Diesel ﬂavour, the denim had also been lightly manually abraded. ‘But, that said, why wouldn’t it work just as well on boys’ clothing?’ Ferraro ponders. ‘There are probably a lot of wannabe fashionista boys who’d go for denim embellished with, say, black pearls – perhaps on the pockets of a jacket or instead of the usual rivets on five-pocket jeans. Yes, i could see that working well...’ watch this space.

Josh Sims writes for Esquire and Wallpaper* 42

Crystal glass and all other materials contain 0.009% lead or less

The Diesel collection is targeted at girls aged six to 16 and includes a jacket, jeans – with a double line of crystals on each side of the leg and more decorating the pockets – and a long-sleeved crystalembellished white T-shirt, its graphic reading, ‘i can see you crystal clear’.

The forum for The world’s smarTesT Thinkers in jewelry join the debate with international business leaders, opinion formers and creative thinkers at this first-ever global jewelry conference. KEYNOTE AND PANEL SPEAKERS INCLUDE: sir Terence Conran, Chairman, Conran Holdings nadja swarovski, Executive Board Member, Swarovski joseph wan, Group Chief Executive, Harvey Nichols kent wong siu-kee, Managing Director, Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group CHAIRPERSON: katharina flohr, Managing & Creative Director, Fabergé

23 – 24 aPril, 2013, Vienna, ausTria For further information please visit www.linkjewelrysummiT.Com

SALT

THE GOLDEN GIRL SwarovSki CFDa womenSwear awarD-winner joSeph altuzarra’S DeSignS juxtapoSe CryStalS with artFul ConStruCtion anD unuSual FabriCS. hiS lateSt ColleCtion DemonStrateS juSt why hiS Star iS in the aSCenDant PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEX CAYLEY ST YLInG: CATHERINE NEWELL-HANSON mOdeL: ANNE VYALITSYNA

Silk-charmeuse wrap scarf dress embroidered with Swarovski Elements

Dress, as before. Boots, Gianvito Rossi for Altuzarra

Opposite: Jacket embroidered with Swarovski Elements. This page: Jacket, as before; silk-charmeuse trousers embroidered with Swarovski Elements

Silk-charmeuse dress embroidered with Swarovski Elements

This page: Silk-charmeuse jacket and trousers embroidered with Swarovski Elements. Opposite: Jacket, as before

photographErâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S aSSiStant Max Dworkin Digital aSSiStant allan E Schoening proDuction aSSiStant romek rasenas hair Fernando torrent at lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;atelier MakE-up rie omoto at See Management nailS kelly B at De Facto MoDEl anne Vyalitsyna at Women Model Management

SALT

BIG IN BEIJING |THE INFLUENCE OF SWAROVSKI IN THE CHINESE CAPITAL ENTERS A NEW ERA WITH A SHOWCASE OF ICONIC dESIgNS, A gALA dINNER TO MARK 120 YEARS OF VOGUE, ANd MANY MORE COLLABORATIONS TO COME Words: nAdjA SwArovSkI PHoToGrAPHY: jAmeS merreLL

When I ﬁrst travelled to the Chinese capital 20 years ago, everyone was riding around on bicycles and wearing the same grey collarless suits. We already had a store in the city at that time, but I never imagined that the world’s most populous nation would one day become our fastest-growing market. I returned to the city in November and was amazed by its vitality, particularly in fashion circles. There’s no prejudice and so much tolerance and it all felt so exciting. Swarovksi was co-hosting a Vogue gala dinner, but I also came to meet with Angelica Cheung, the editor-in-chief of Vogue China, to get a feel for local movements in art, design and fashion, and to help out at our ﬁrst design exhibition in the city.

‘I was amazed by the city’s vitality, particularly in fashion circles’

This last task was key. While the brand is well established in the Chinese market – the East Asian zodiac usually determines which of our crystal animal figurines will sell well in the region – very little is known about our creative collaborations across the art, design and fashion industries. Filling the 4,000sq m of floor space at the Times Art Museum, in the city’s central business district, the work showcased by my colleagues from Swarovski’s Asian office included our 1999 collaborations with Alexander McQueen; costumes from our first feature film – a Julian Fellowes-scripted adaptation of Romeo and Juliet to be released next year; our Tord Boontje ‘Blossom’ chandelier; and our collection for the 2012

SALT

The Skyfall collection was the work of British jewelry designer Stephen Webster, who attended the event, alongside other long-standing Swarovski collaborators, furniture designers Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard, and award-winning young fashion designer Mary Katrantzou. They all made great travelling companions, yet they also helped us get our message across. As I explained to Angelica the evening before the Vogue event, my great-great grandfather, Daniel Swarovski, wanted to offer every woman the sensation of what it was like to wear a diamond. Now, as China opens up, jewelry has become one of the easiest forms of self-expression. Making luxury accessible like this is the modern embodiment of Daniel’s dream. Of course, not everything we do in Europe or America can be transferred to the streets of Beijing. I was fascinated to hear how Angelica feels she needs to explain certain concepts to her readers; after all, the Sixties in China meant the Cultural

Revolution, not The Beatles and the miniskirt. Yet at the Vogue dinner, it became quite clear that the domestic fashion professionals have their own sense of style, measuring up well alongside overseas guests such as Mario Testino, Viktor & Rolf and Japanese artist and Marc Jacobs collaborator, Yayoi Kusama. The Vogue celebrations were staged at Beijing’s Park Hyatt hotel to celebrate seven years of Vogue in China and 120 years of Vogue overall. The event was complemented by a beautiful exhibition, with photos from the magazine’s past 12 decades. There were Georges Lepape shots, Nick Knight images, Guy Bourdin ﬁlms, as well as countless pages by David Bailey, Cecil Beaton, Herb Ritts and others. During this trip, I took the opportunity to visit the 798 district, east of Beijing’s centre. Built by East German contractors at the height of the Cold War, munitions were once manufactured here. Falling into disrepair as East-West relations thawed, it was colonized by artists in the Nineties and has since become a vibrant contemporary-arts community. I expected provocative pieces, but was pleasantly surprised by the positivity of the work and the international outlook of the galleries and artists.

Things move fast here, so we aim to return to the city next year, to host a show ﬁlled with Swarovski works from Chinese designers. Though our plans aren’t set, I saw plenty of talent on this trip, not least in the 798. I was particularly taken with the artist Zhan Wang’s show, Form of the Formless, at the Long March gallery, which included smashed rocks cast in resin and plated with glittering metal, as well as a transparent, artiﬁcial rock, cast in clear plastic. Once we come across someone we think we can work with, we usually send them a selection of crystals, just so they can play around with them. I can see Wang being inspired by our products. Something else struck me as I was touring 798. While walking around the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in the neighborhood, CEO May Xue explained that her mother had once worked there, making missiles. In those days, it was a shadowy place, shrouded in secrets. Today, it’s one of the most progressive, creative and open places in the city, more reminiscent of SoHo in New York than the China I used to know. That’s the kind of change we want to be involved in. We’ll be back soon.

James Bond ﬁlm Skyfall. Everyone from newspaper columnists and inﬂuential bloggers to local buyers and creatives was there to discover what we do.

The luminescent fragrance

FRAGRANCES AND MAKE UP JEWELS, AVAIL ABLE AT SELECTIVE PERFUMERIES, DEPARTMENT STORES AND SWAROVSKI BOUTIQUES. swar ovskibeaut y.c om

SALT

eAST meeTS weST When nadja SWarovSki met angelica cheung, editor-in-chief of Vogue China, at a gala dinner in beijing, the pair Were quick to find common ground. here, they diScuSS the changing face of china and the challengeS ahead, and What it’S like to juggle the demandS of being a modern Woman, Wherever you live interview: ALex rAyNer photograph: jAmeS merreLL

Nadja SwarovSki: My ﬁrst time in Beijing was 20 years ago and people were still wearing their grey Mao suits then. The transformation has been incredible. How do you feel about this change, having been born and raised here, and now playing such an important role in the way people dress? aNgelica cheuNg: I’d hardly heard of Vogue 20 years ago. Even a decade ago, if someone had said people would be wearing Balmain, I would have said ‘Oh, come on! This is China!’ We all underestimated how quickly things would change. We thought the education process through magazines like ours would take a long time, but, if you look at Chinese girls, they are really not that different from other fashionable women around the world. NS: What contributed to that evolution? ac: You guys, and companies like yours, really. The country’s changing – socially, politically and culturally – but Chinese women are very smart. They understand change. They get it really quickly. Combine that with the fact that we’re traveling more and seeing other lifestyles, and becoming more comfortable around foreigners… I’m sure you remember that, 20 years ago, people were a lot more nervous, but now you can really talk to them. NS: Yes. And I’ve seen someone hunched over their BlackBerry. That’s a very un-Chinese thing to see! ac: Exactly! NS: Tell me, how does Vogue China compare to all the other Vogues around the world? ac: I’m often asked this question. I studied all the versions before I launched ours and they’re so different. I feel we have a duty to educate in Vogue China, to put things in context. For example, if you refer to ‘Sixties fashion’, many Chinese readers don’t have a clue. For China, the Sixties was the Cultural Revolution. So, we need to explain what it means to go back to the Sixties, to paint a picture of culture and art in order to know what it means. Also, I have

a multifaceted reader in mind. When I launched Vogue China, the first year was just fashion, fashion, fashion. The quality was great, but I soon realized the reader has a soul, too, so we started to focus on her holistically as a woman as well. Every issue, we have a piece about positive thinking – we might focus on work or motherhood or charity, or talk about how you need to be more tolerant and loving to people around you. When I think of our typical reader, I picture a woman who possesses those qualities, but also knows how to dress well. NS: That really emphasizes the importance of your publication. So, in some sense, you’re a teacher? ac: Yes, in some ways, we do undertake a lot of education. But then we’re mindful that we’re a consumer magazine, not a textbook. We don’t want to lecture people. There’s no right and wrong. NS: Well, I think it’s great that you’re sending out that message. It’s really uplifting and encouraging. ac: Yes. If it becomes a lesson, it’s not enjoyable – it just gives you stress and you think you might as well not bother. You need to feel good about yourself. NS: That’s the great thing about fashion – there are choices, and different people choose different things. ac: Exactly. And it’s not just fashion – we want to feature inspirational women like you, Nadja! You work, you have a family, you’re beautiful, but you’re also very fulfilled. I’m constantly asked this question, but I want to ask you it: how do you do it? NS: Well, I feel we women wanted it all and we didn’t want to compromise our careers for motherhood, so now we have it all, we just have to deal with it. It’s largely a matter of time management and getting the right support team in the office, but also at home. And how about you? ac: I don’t know. I just run faster, talk faster, eat faster! And I try to anticipate things a little bit more. But there’s no real strategy.

NS: Do you think the general opinion in China is that people have more individual freedom now? ac: I think it’s becoming more liberal. The Chinese are traveling and outsiders are coming in, so, as a society, we are more relaxed than we used to be. NS: I’d be really interested to hear your views on environmental issues. ac: Oh my goodness! I love Beijing, but I feel as though we’re living in a gas tank. This is a great city, but when you’re downtown in the pollution, it’s bad. And no one really seems to know why. They tried to control the numbers of cars, but they haven’t really succeeded – in fact, it feels as if there are 1,000 more cars on the road every day. NS: Are the Chinese people making greater demands on their government in this regard? ac: Many are. It’s always the same thing: we all talk about it, we even post pictures of the grey sky online. Change will come with time, I think – as people’s lifestyle improves, they will start looking at the bigger issues. Anyway, I want to ask you: Swarovski is a big empire, and a big family. In which direction do you want to take the company? NS: Well, it’s been around for 115 years. When my great-great grandfather was a child in Bohemia, the local glass manufacturers would deliver long glass rods to the kids at home, who would cut crystals out of them using manually driven grinding tools. But he thought, ‘This is such a boring process! I’m going to invent a machine.’ So he moved to Austria, away from the competition, and made crystals. He felt that, though diamonds might be reserved for royalty, every woman should be allowed to enjoy the sensation of what it was like to wear one. This is now referred to as the democratization of luxury. Interestingly, in China, when the population were permitted to stop wearing their Mao suits, one of the ﬁrst ways women expressed their individuality was with jewelry. It’s affordable, it’s about self-expression and perhaps a little bit about liberation, too.

‘Vogue China’s not just about fashion – we want to feature inspirational women like you, Nadja!’

woman to woman Angelica Cheung, left, and Nadja Swarovski, in Beijing

SALT

art beat as a patron of cultural institutions and a supporter of established and emerging artists, swarovski’s finger is firmly on the creative pulse Words: michAeL prodger

Sitting quietly behind the likes of Le Corbusier, Frank Lloyd Wright and Mies van der Rohe, the great names who absorb much of 20th-century architecture’s airtime, is the most radical of them all. Perhaps because his signature buildings are off the usual trail in places such as Bangladesh and Fort Worth, Louis Kahn (1901-1974) has never had his peers’ proﬁle, but his work and philosophy are startling.

air and we – are made of light that has been spent, and this crumpled mass called material casts a shadow and the shadow belongs to light.’ And that was Swarovski’s starting point, too. In this retrospective – the ﬁrst since 1969 – some 40 of the architect’s buildings are examined through plans, drawings, models, photographs and ﬁlms, and what emerges most clearly is that he treated his structures rather as if they were simply enormous sculptures.

A major new exhibition should correct the imbalance. Louis Kahn: The Power of Architecture, globally supported by Swarovski as part of its patronage of art, architecture and design, premiered at the Netherlands Architecture Institute last autumn. It is currently on show at Germany’s Vitra Design Museum, which conceived it, before going on tour until 2016.

Kahn favoured geometrical and crystalline forms, carving holes in them to supply fascinating spatial surprises. Thus, light ﬂoods through circular or triangular openings and traces moving patterns on the interiors like a spotlight searching the skies. If his buildings are poetic it is because he thought poetically: ‘The sun never knew how great it was until it struck the side of a building,’ he once said, and he designed buildings as if to reafﬁrm the sun’s

The pairing makes sense. Kahn believed, ‘All material in nature – the mountains and the streams and the

SALT

BY DESIGN Previous page: Louis Kahn in the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, in 1972. This page, from top: Kahn, left, and Jonas Salk look at a maquette of Kahn’s design for the City Tower, in 1958; the Salk Institute. Opposite: Fabrice Hyber beneath his ‘Rain Cloud’

Courtesy of the Salk Institute of Biological Studies; Didier Plowy; from the collection of Sue Ann Kahn; Matthieu Salvaing; Robert Wharton

SALT

greatness. The result is that projects such as his Kimbell Art Museum in Texas and his National Assembly building in Dhaka never appear the same way twice. The structures themselves may be monolithic, but the play of light on both the exterior and interior means they are ever-changing – light can sneak in like mist, but it can also cut through with the precision of a laser.

Hyber’s work expresses an idea just as it begins to crystallize

It is this capacity to surprise that sets Kahn’s work apart. His buildings could be termed architecture in reverse because his key materials were not solids but voids. When he used columns, it was not their presence he wanted to accentuate, but the way they ‘frame the spaces of light’ in between. Even his most massive buildings, such as the Salk Institute in California or the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad, work this way – the heft of walls and forms is really a counterpoint to the light-deﬁned vacuum in which they sit.

Fabrice Hyber: Matières Premières, Swarovski expanded its list of creative partnerships – which includes the Château de Versailles in France, and the Design Museum in Britain – by becoming a founding partner of the revamped Palais de Tokyo in Paris, where the show launched. Hyber is a difficult artist to categorize. Influential and inventive, he utilizes sculpture, drawing and photography to explore the theme of transformation. What he wants to express is an idea as it comes into being and just begins to crystallize, and that is notoriously hard to capture. So, visitors who walked through the 1,200m space encountered green men trapped in huge bubbles at one turn and stately cubes of flat Pantone color at the next. No one element was like anything else. Links between the objects do, however, exist in the artist’s mind, and one of his most revealing pieces is ‘Rain Cloud’ – a huge cartoonish inflatable cloud that looks as if it has floated free from a television weather report. Instead of rain, however, what pours out from beneath it is a torrent of crystals – 6,000 of them hung on transparent thread. The viewer can stand and look up at this scudding crystal shower that seems to be on its way to somewhere else and be drenched with light while remaining totally dry. The piece is a perfect example of Hyber’s overflowing creativity, how it makes him a ‘Swarovski figure’ and why the company has chosen him for its first venture with a contemporary artist.

Kahn encapsulated the best architecture in a neat aphorism: ‘A great building must begin with the unmeasurable, must go through measurable means when it is being designed and, in the end, must again be unmeasurable.’ The numinous nature of light is one reason why, although his buildings can be outlined in meters and centimeters, their effect cannot. Something of the breadth of Swarovski’s support for the most interesting creative practitioners can be seen in the fact that, at the time of the Kahn show, the company was simultaneously collaborating on an exhibition of the work of a very different artist. With

Michael Prodger writes for Standpoint magazine

SALT

shoe shine

For ﬁlm footage of the Sparkling Contrasts collection, simply scan the Qr code above

in its latest venture, swarovski invited some of the world’s foremost footwear designers to create a new crystal-encrusted shoe collection, with sparkling contrasts as their inspiration Words: AShLey MAuriTzen

For its latest collaboration, Sparkling Contrasts, Swarovski Elements invited 13 of the world’s most established names and exciting emerging talents in design to create two pairs of contrasting yet complementary shoes. At the heart of Swarovski’s appeal lies variety – a variety as seemingly endless as the color spectrum itself. The chosen designers used myriad shapes, shades, effects and sizes to bring their dreams to life, and the results are striking, fresh and mesmerizingly unique. Each piece of footwear in the Sparkling Contrasts collection, unveiled in an exhibition in the ballroom at Shanghai’s Andaz hotel, exudes a highly individualistic quality. The contrast might be structural and dramatic, as in Maison des Talons’ graphic sandal or Alejandro Ingelmo’s gladiator sandal and sky-high wedge. Or it could rely entirely on the potent power of different colored crystals: Rupert Sanderson took this approach to explore two very distinct personalities through one sparkling platform sandal – ‘Gothic Queen’ is a midnight skyscape of navy, turquoise and violet, while ‘Pop Princess’ is a symphony in candy cane, in homage to the roller-girl. Industry veteran René Caovilla, meanwhile, used a single luxurious evening shoe to tell two romantic stories through a glittering palette – one about the deep pink hues of sunset, the other about the point where the sand kisses the sea. Ruthie Davis, similarly, named her paired designs, inspired by seashells, ‘Sea’ and ‘Sand’. The light that draws us towards crystals doesn’t come from within; it is a reﬂection of the world that surrounds them. This makes the collaborative spirit of Sparkling Contrasts, and its celebration of creative diversity, feel particularly apt. Each designer has

projected his or her own interpretation onto their material and, like the crystal chameleon it is, it assumed a different meaning for each one. For London-based cult designer Charlotte Olympia, Swarovski Elements became a shimmering web nestled amid black velvet, with a glamorous crystal spider perching on each shoe. Red-carpet favorite Jerome C Rousseau explored the interplay of light and shadow to suggest the surface of a meteor, while Italian heritage brand Casadei used larger-than-life shapes to move from the vivid kaleidoscopic color of a tropical seabed to the translucent Arctic, in a wedge ﬁt for a snow queen. Other designers were quick to embrace the contrast between the delicacy of crystal and the stiffer materials of shoes themselves. Roland Mouret, artistic director of Robert Clergerie, juxtaposed masculine and feminine by using dark crystals to

‘Like a crystal chameleon, each design assumed a different meaning’ BroUGHT To HEEL Designs by, left-hand column: Alejandro ingelmo, Casadei, Maison des Talons and ruthie Davis; middle column: Beatrix Ong MBe, Gio Diev,

robert Clergerie, neorhythm and Charlotte Olympia; right-hand column: rené Caovilla, Jerome C rousseau. rupert Sanderson and repetto

illuminate the leather, bringing the shoes to life. Beatrix Ong MBE – aka ‘the new Choo’ – contrasted tradition and innovation by adding punk-style crystal studding to traditional brogues and Oxford shoes. Legendary ballet brand Repetto, meanwhile, added witty embellishment to classic designs crafted in pastel suede. All of the designers were keen to explore to the full the animating effect of the interaction between dark and light. Nowhere was this more evident than in New York-based Gio Diev’s evening sandals, in which he combined ancient inspiration – the half-moonshaped Indian tribal headpieces – and a futuristic finish reflecting space travel and the speed of light. Describing their two decadent evening sandals, young Korean design duo Lee Cho Hee and Ko Jung Yeon, of Neorhythm, ‘set out to draw the eye to the brilliant play of light produced by movement with every step.’ Because brilliant, of course, it is. And that, perhaps, is where the real magic of Sparkling Contrasts lies, in the juxtaposition of the supremely beautiful and the – dare we say? – practical. After all, a shoe is what carries us. It pounds floors and pavements, so what could be more daring than a sparkling toecap? Why not walk on crystal stars? The Sparkling Contrasts collection was exclusively previewed during the 2012 end-of-year holiday season at La Rinascente, Milan, and Harvey Nichols, Riyadh, and will be available in spring/summer 2013. Ashley Mauritzen is the editor of the Let Them Eat Cake online fashion resource

Sunken treASure TOP DESIGNERS HAVE CONCEIVED SPECTACULAR PIECES FOR SPRING/SUmmER 2013 USING SwAROVSkI ELEmENTS PHOTOGRAPHER: iSAbeLLe bonjeAn sT ylisT: MArCeL VAn Doorn

Opposite: ‘Marisa’ necklace in Golden Shadow, Atelier Swarovski by Vanessa Seward This page: ‘DV Cross’ cuff in Multi and ‘DV Cross’ ring in Light Siam, both Atelier Swarovski Diana Vreeland Legacy Collection

This page: ‘Clerodendrum’ cuff and ‘Kobea’ ring in Provence Lavender, both Atelier Swarovski by Stefano Poletti Opposite: ‘Ava’ bracelet in Golden Shadow, Atelier Swarovski by Vanessa Seward

Opposite: ‘Greek Goddess’ opulent necklace, made with Swarovski Elements, Ben-Amun, available at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™ This page: ‘Duchess’ bangle and ring, made with Swarovski Elements, both Jayde by Melissa Kandiyoti available at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™

Opposite: ‘DV Cross’ headpiece, Atelier Swarovski Diana Vreeland Legacy Collection This page: Neckpiece in Vintage Rose, Atelier Swarovski by Nicholas Kirkwood DigitAL teChNiCiAN Nicolas Migalon DigitAL ASSiStANt guillaume Dumas

SALT

DIGITAL revoLuTIon swarovski’s first dedicated exhibition at a major museum was a mark of the important part it has to play in the future of design Words: Nick compToN

More than a decade ago, Swarovski began a unique project, Swarovski Crystal Palace. Public fascination with design was intensifying and its ﬁrst international stars were emerging. The company provided a creative platform for them to indulge their wildest fantasies, try out the latest technologies and, using crystal as a core material, shed light in miraculous new ways. Since then, the results have been shown at major global events, including Design Miami and Salone Internazionale del Mobile, establishing Swarovski as a serious patron of design, and crystal as a material that could be used to magical effect.

program, which included key events during the London Design Festival and Frieze Art Fair and talks by the designers. It will tour globally until 2015.

This decade of experimentation was recently celebrated in Digital Crystal: Swarovski at the Design Museum. Fifteen designers, some of them – Troika, Fredrikson Stallard, Paul Cocksedge, Arik Levy, ron Arad, Marcus Tremonto and Yves Behar – old hands, and some – Anton Alvarez, Philippe Malouin, Hilda Helström, Semiconductor, Hye-Yeon Park, rAndom International and Maarten Baas – new recruits, came up with fresh works, fundamentally rethought old ones or gave existing projects an entirely new conceptual context.

‘Digital Crystal questions our relationship with the changing world,’ says Design Museum director Deyan Sudjic. ‘It’s all too easy to lose our connection with the tangible as we move ever faster through a digital age in which memories and the personal possessions we once held in such high regard are either online or gone in an instant. With the demise of the analogue era, our relationship with diaries, letters and other ephemera, even time itself, has changed.’

This was Swarovski’s ﬁrst major exhibition in an internationally renowned museum, but it is unlikely to be its last. It formed part of a larger cultural

There is more to this, of course, than sparkling indulgences, however radical in conception and execution. Swarovski is renowned for encouraging designers, established and emerging, to engage with technologies and ideas, old and new. And, combining the two, the thematic driver of Digital Crystal was an exploration of how our memories are being expanded or diminished by digital technology.

This proved a rich source of inspiration for the designers involved. Troika and rAndom International have pioneered the use of digital technology in design works, rather than just the process, and questioned the nature of digital information itself.

Indeed, Troika’s book, Digital by Design, was a showcase and manifesto for this new movement. Their ‘Hardcoded Memory’, designed especially for the exhibition, examines the way digital media allows us to externalize our memory, collecting countless photos on hard drives, rather than in the form of the traditional treasured but fading snapshots in albums. It comprises three low-resolution images, made up of growing and contracting dots of light shone through custom-made Swarovski lenses. Its old-fashioned analogue mechanism means these three images are all you can get or are ever going to get. It reminds us how limited and transient – and perhaps more meaningful – our physical records used to be. rAndom International, whose ‘rain room’ is currently wowing (but not soaking) the crowds at the Barbican Centre, channels sunlight in a different way: through a series of lenses and shutters (although they had to use artiﬁcial light in the Design Museum) to project a moving image. ‘Study for Sunlight video’ converts the crisp, digital form back to something analogue and fuzzier, pushing viewers to work harder and use their memory to sharpen and ﬁll out the image. Yves Béhar’s ethereal ‘Amplify’ sparks memories of a traditional large-scale chandelier but rethinks it

SALT

LIGHT FANTASTIC Previous pages: Some of the Digital Crystal designers, with, far left, Deyan Sudjic and, second from right, Nadja Swarovski; ‘Blur’ by Philippe Malouin. Opposite: ‘Pandora’ by Fredrikson Stallard. This page, from top: ‘The Monument’ by Hilda Helström; ‘Amplify’ by Yves Béhar

in an affordable and sustainable way. Using only a single crystal and one low-energy light bulb per faceted recycled-paper shade, its lanterns exquisitely refract light in a muted rainbow of colors.

commissioning process is a dream come true – there’s a far looser brief and fewer ﬁnancial restrictions than with other projects. That allows real freedom and a direct connection between the designer and his or her creativity.’

Philippe Malouin’s ‘Blur’ spins colored Swarovski beads in circles at high speed. Lit by LEDs, the crystals form abstract light paintings of concentric rings that vary with the velocity. This dynamic installation literally blurs the boundaries between the physical nature of the crystals and the intangible patterns that remain as they race before our eyes. Anglo-Swedish duo Fredrikson Stallard are longterm collaborators with Swarovski. Their piece, ‘Pandora’, was exhibited for the third time. ‘It was our ﬁrst design for the company,’ says Ian Stallard. ‘Our brief was to reinterpret the chandelier. We did this by taking a classic form, the Empire, and literally exploding it. The piece is digital in the way it works, but we’re also interested in the idea of memory. It preserves a part of design history, in that it’s a graphical, pixellated version of a traditional shape, but it also has memory itself in the way it slowly disintegrates but then returns to its original form.’ Stallard is quick to praise both the latitude and support Swarovski offered them. ‘The company’s

British designer Paul Cocksedge used a super-sharp light source for his previously shown piece ‘Crystallize’ – 2mm-wide laser beams shot at perfectly aligned mirrors and suspended Swarovksi Elements create a chandelier of diamond shapes that is there and then not there, leaving only mesmerizing traces on the retina.

‘Swarovski’s partnerships have made a unique contribution to design’ 77

Cocksedge believes that Swarovski’s program of experimental partnerships represents a unique contribution to contemporary design. ‘They’ve taken the public’s perception of what “design” can be to the next level. People often visit exhibitions expecting product design in the more conventional sense, which makes Digital Crystal an unexpected experience. Visitors will be able to see pieces whose construction has involved impressive technological, mechanical, electronic, light and sound know-how, but which don’t ﬁt the usual categories.’ swarovskidigitalcrystal.com. Nick Compton is the features editor of Wallpaper*

SALT

hat tricks celebrity HAtter pHilip treAcy’s cAtwAlk sHow for september’s london fAsHion week sAw crystAl used to dAzzling effect. now tHe designer is set to turn HeAds AgAin, witH A new jewelry collection for Atelier swArovski Words: emmA o’keLLy

Philip Treacy doesn’t wear a lot of jewelry, but he does wear a thimble – on his right middle ﬁnger. He feels lost without it. ‘It’s my security blanket,’ he says, swinging to and fro in a Bubble Chair in his south London studio. ‘It’s part of who I am. I can’t work without one – I have hundreds of them.’

wearing Michael Jackson’s costumes from the archive collection of the star’s costume designer Michael Bush, and others sporting Mickey Mouse ears. Perhaps surprisingly, it took until autumn 2012 for Treacy to design his ﬁrst-ever jewelry collection – which he has created for Atelier Swarovski. Might we see some crystal-studded thimble rings? ‘Perhaps,’ he grins, ‘though the inspiration so far has come from the shapes I use in my hats.’ He picks out a spiral wooden mold on which he based a creation for Blow. It’s one of hundreds, all hand-carved in Paris, and it’s not hard to see how their ﬂuid, organic forms will translate into sensual, body-conscious pieces. ‘It’s an exciting challenge because consumers are inundated with jewelry, much more so than with hats, so it’s important to do something different.

For the past 20 years, Treacy has been the maddest hatter of them all. He used to have to break up squabbles over his creations between the eccentric singer Grace Jones and his muse, the late Isabella Blow. More recently, he provided the ‘pretzel’ hat Princess Beatrice wore to the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. And his spring/ summer 2013 catwalk show at London Fashion Week last September opened with Lady Gaga dressed in a pink burka once owned by Blow, followed by models

Kevin Davies; Jason Lloyd-Evans

head-turners Previous page: A model takes to the runway in one of Michael Jacksonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s costumes and Philip Treacyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LED-lit propeller hat. This page: Boundary-pushing creations for spring/summer 2013. Opposite, from top: the hatter at work in his studio; a dramatic full-face headpiece studded with crystals

SALT

‘Gaga wasn’t intimidated by jewelry of Alice in Wonderland proportions’ I’ve worked with Swarovski for 20 years and Nadja has asked me many times before to do jewelry, but until now, the timing was never right,’ he explains. The success of the 2012 catwalk show, on which Treacy collaborated with Swarovski, spurred on the association. He showcased 37 hats, among them a fairground in miniature, based on Michael Jackson’s Neverland, and a whirring LED-illuminated propeller hat. Feathers, quills, beads, seaweed and even a Coke can appeared on models’ heads but, of all the embellishments, crystals are his favorite and were used on 12 pieces. ‘They are the ultimate fantasy product. My designs just wouldn’t be the same if I used pearls or glitter – their faceted nature presents endless possibilities.’ Lady Gaga channeled Blow in a brown wig, while models sashayed down the runway in crystalstudded heels by Nicholas Kirkwood, accessorized with crystal cuffs and giant star rings. ‘The rings are dangerous,’ he laughs, ‘but Gaga bought the one she wore. Some people are not intimidated by jewelry of Alice in Wonderland proportions. It’s great fun.’ For his previous shows, the last of which was a decade ago, Treacy always borrowed outﬁts from his friend, the late Alexander McQueen. ‘But, for this one,’ he says, ‘I couldn’t think of who to ask. Years ago, Isabella convinced me we needed to buy Marilyn Monroe’s fake eyelashes. We tracked them down to Julien’s, a celebrity auction house in LA. They cost $80,000 – we would have had to take out a mortgage to buy them! Anyway, I knew that, in December, Julien’s was auctioning Michael Jackson’s costumes, so I asked if I could borrow a single white glove. To my delight, they said I could have the entire wardrobe [100 outﬁts, including 10 white gloves, the trousers from the ‘Billie Jean’ video and the jacket from ‘Thriller’]. And it would be a gift! We built a storeroom for them, took out a £10m insurance policy and had them shipped over in inconspicuous rucksacks so they didn’t look as if they were anything special and wouldn’t appear worth stealing en route.’ On arrival, no one but the models – not even Lady Gaga – was allowed to try on the costumes. ‘It would have been disrespectful,’ says Treacy.

my “Ship” hat, but I didn’t want to sell it. It’s unique – the only one I’ve made,’ he says wistfully. As well as Jackson’s famous garments, Treacy is surrounded by pieces that remind him of his other icon: Isabella Blow. ‘She’s everywhere in here, all around me every day,’ he says, pointing to her ‘Japanese Garden’ hat – a delicately carved wooden scene of pagodas and temples. As his conﬁdante and creative partner-in-crime for 20 years, Blow wore with panache anything he made her and, in turn, made him famous. When he graduated from the Royal College of Art in 1989, its ﬁrst millinery student in 165 years, Blow set him up with a studio in the basement of her house. ‘We learnt together and her expectation of what the next hat would be like was both thrilling and intimidating.’ However, it hasn’t always been Blow that Treacy has had in mind when he began to design each hat, even before her suicide in 2007. ‘Actually, my starting point’s always been an old doll from a Seventies hairdresser’s window in Ireland,’ he explains. ‘She looks hideous, but the shape of her face is good and she has the right attitude. Millinery’s a very complex craft, but the end product must appear effortless. If a hat’s overworked, it won’t look right. It needs to seem as if no one touched it at all.’

‘I’m obsessed with Michael Jackson, so, to see his clothes hanging there on rails was as if all those images of him from TV when I was growing up had come to life.’ Treacy was born in 1967 in a village in Ireland – one of nine children. He learnt to sew surreptitiously on his mother’s machine, when he was just ﬁve. The world Jackson inhabited was as far from that of his own childhood as it is possible to be. The pair never met, but Treacy always longed to make the acquaintance of his hero. ‘He wanted to buy

Emma O’Kelly is editor-at-large of Wallpaper*

SALT

LITTLE BY LITTLE there’s a new breed of fashion-savvy youngster who’s learning to be as discerning in the world of luxury fashion as their parents. small wonder that on-trend teenies and tweenies enjoy the sparkle of swarovski, too Words: dAiSy bridgEwATEr

c heeky c hic Opposite: Tutu by Mischka Aoki. This page: backstage at the Petite Parade, October 2012

Swarovski’s involvement in Petite Parade, a children’s wear catwalk showcase during New York Fashion Week last October, was a success story long before the cherubic models had even set off down the runway. ‘Children like sparkles – it’s simple,’ says Giuliana Parabiago, editor-in-chief of Vogue Bambini, the media partner to the event, which collaborated with Swarovski to invite 11 brands, including baby CZ, Miss Blumarine, Caramel Baby & Child, Lamantine Paris, Lilly Pulitzer, Mischka Aoki and OOOH LaLa Couture, to incorporate Swarovski Elements into their designs. ‘They were delighted to be wearing crystal and it was impossible not to feel that energy and excitement.’

was a seamless blend between the designer’s vision and a child’s taste. Everyone loves bling!’ Crucial to the collaboration was the incorporation of the embellished outﬁts into each label’s commercial offering for spring/summer 2013. ‘We wanted the catwalk to show what’s possible with Swarovski Elements: that they can be worn by children, and are not reserved for high fashion and fantasy wear,’ explains Parabiago. And to drive home that message post-show, youngsters were invited to string their own bracelets, decorate backpacks and accessorize shoes with Swarovski Elements during a Sparkling Craft Workshop – possibly the most glamorous children’s crafting event ever seen in Manhattan. As part of the workshop, crystalline theater masks were created for the Only Make Believe charity, which performs interactive theater in hospitals and care facilities. The event was a glittering success.

While the eight-year-old DJ Kai Song spun the decks, Swarovski-encrusted pieces were paraded before an audience of enraptured buyers and mini fashion mavens. ‘Children’s wear is a wonderful place to interpret the material,’ Parabiago continues. ‘We collaborated with a whole spectrum, from more casual brands such as T-Shirt T-Shops and Joe’s Jeans to elegant formalwear houses including Bonnie Young and Halabaloo. In every case, however, there

Crystal detailing is really the tip of the luxury children’s wear iceberg – a market that has proved resilient to the global recession, as couture houses race to jump on the pint-sized bandwagon. This year

Behind-the-scenes photographs, Bonnie Young at Petite Parade, courtesy of Alix Martinez

SALT

‘Swarovski Elements are bright and brilliant when worn by a child’ alone has seen comprehensive mini-me collections from Dolce & Gabbana and Versace, both determined to wrest their share of the market from the likes of Gucci, Lanvin, Chloé and John Galliano. In January, Harrods will complete the final stage of a refurbishment to its ‘junior’ offering: 13,850sq ft dedicated to the ‘tween’ market (aged 10-16), showcasing designs from a roll-call of top houses, including Dior and Armani, in a distinctly adult environment of muted tones and soothing music. Anyone looking for an on-trend Suzanne Ermann neon party dress will find it here, alongside patterned Versace leggings and scaled-down Galliano biker jackets. There are similar goings-on on the other side of the Atlantic, with Saks and Bloomingdale’s reporting increased demand for standout pieces, albeit in Lilliputian sizes. At first glance, an unlikely offshoot of the financial crisis, this market growth is a consequence of the precocious fashion awareness of our progeny, aided and abetted by exposure to the fashion media and the fact that they are increasingly treated as small-but-perfectly-formed adults. Add to this the media fascination with immaculately dressed A-lister offspring and you have an environment in which the smallest sizes can mean the biggest business. Hanging onto the coat-tails of New York, London will be hosting its first Global Kids Fashion Week in March – a three-day extravaganza of runway shows, performances, exhibitions and talks centered around high-end children’s clothing. There will be two main catwalk events: the first, for the media, will present collections for autumn/winter 2013; the second will be a ticketed event sponsored by luxury children’s wear e-tailer AlexandAlexa. CEO Alex Theophanous is passionate about kids’ clothes, and sees the market growth as a natural progression. ‘Children’s fashion is playful, fun and innovative, and global luxury brands are always looking for ways to expand their offering,’ he tells me. ‘They’re recognizing that their core customers have grown up and had kids, so introducing children’s wear is a way of bringing in a new generation of customer.’

For ﬁlm footage, simply scan the QR code above small world Opposite and this page, above: Backstage at the Petite Parade, October 2012. Opposite below: Dress by Mischka Aoki. This page, below: A young model wearing a dress and leggings by Bonnie Young

vivE LA FRAncE clothing company iKKS recently celebrated its 25th anniversary. Founded in 1987 in France, the brand now retails globally. To mark this milestone, iKKS Junior unveiled a magical autumn/winter 2012 collection for girls and boys in collaboration with Swarovski Elements and Burlington. The 24 pieces for two- to 12-year-olds were available in more than 150 stores all over Europe. The exclusive Swarovski Elements for iKKS Girl range featured 13 pieces – dresses, skirts, tops, shirts and jeans – and incorporated subtle precision-cut crystal details adorning embroidery, bows, pockets and buttons, bringing light and refinement to the unique garments. A T-shirt with a sparkling dragonfly made with Swarovski Elements was the standout star of the collection. The second collection, Burlington Argyll, for iKKS Boy, combined Burlington’s iconic diamond pattern with a modern color palette in designs fit for a junior dandy.

It is with sparkling insight that Swarovski has decided the time is right to dip its toe into the luxury children’s wear market, and they will not ﬁnd a more receptive audience. Whether it’s Cinderella’s dazzling glass slippers or the glints of magic dust on a fairy’s wings, things that glisten and sparkle have always fueled the child’s imagination and desire. ‘Swarovski Elements are bright and brilliant, and never more so than when worn by a child,’ adds Parabiago. ‘There could not be a more natural collaboration.’ Daisy Bridgewater writes about children’s wear for the Telegraph’s Saturday magazine

SaLt

for spring/summer 2013, swarovski has collaborated with some of the fashion industryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most cutting-edge creatives. the results speak for themselves PHOTOGRAPHY: DaMon baKer ST YLInG: anna treveLyan

Swarovski crystal-mesh brocade dress, Mary Katrantzou. Shoes, Christian Louboutin for Mary Katrantzou

This page: Silk-tulle dress embellished with Swarovski Elements, Giles. Opposite, from left: Cotton-twill shirt, Bermuda shorts and dress embellished with Swarovski crystal fabric, all Maarten van der Horst

Silk-organza dress made with Swarovski Elements, Huishan Zhang. Shoes, Christian Louboutin

Opposite: Brocade dress, silk top, shoes and metal chain made with Swarovski Elements, all Rodarte. This page: PlissĂŠ dress, shorts and Swarovski Elements body harness, Marios Schwab

Opposite: Swarovski crystal-mesh dress, Anthony Vaccarello. This page: Cotton shirt and tiered silk skirt embellished with Swarovski Elements, Creatures of the Wind

PhotogrAPhEr’S ASSiStAnt Michael Furlonger StyliSt’S ASSiStAnt Alfie gardner DigitAl oPErAtor robert Self hAir Claire rothstein MAkE-uP thomas De kluyver at D+V Management nAilS rebecca Jade Wilson at Jed root MoDEl Vita at Select Shot at Spring Studios

SALT

HAUTE TickET SwarovSki’S connectionS with couture date back to the craft’S very inception, So the brand and itS enduring partnerShip with the world of deSigner faShion iS an integral part of a new pariSian exhibition Words: RebeccA MAy JohnSon

Paris, the birthplace and beating heart of haute couture for more than a century, plays host this spring to a sumptuous and encyclopedic exhibition, Paris Haute Couture, celebrating the craft of making exquisite clothes. Held in the marble galleries of the Hôtel de Ville, it is the ﬁrst of its kind. it is also fully supported by Swarovski, whose ties with this most luxurious industry stretch right back to the beginning.

attention to ﬁt, lavish trimmings and fabrics, as well as his references to historic dress. At the same time that haute couture was emerging at the House of Worth, another groundbreaking company was being established: that of crystal manufacturer Swarovski. Swarovski’s partnership with this exhibition is a natural evolution, for the brand has been a constant presence in the world of couture since its earliest days. in 1895, Daniel Swarovski founded his business in Wattens, in the Austrian Tyrol. it was here that he invented a machine for cutting crystal and explored all the possibilities of shape, color and sparkle. His glittering products soon caught the eye of the House of Worth and other emergent couturiers – in the famous ﬁn-de-siècle Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900, Worth showed gowns sparkling with Swarovski crystals.

The world of couture originated in late-19th century Paris, where an Englishman, charles Frederick Worth, carved out a position as the ﬁrst couturier in fashion history. He coined the term ‘designer’, in preference to dressmaker or tailor, thereby elevating the status of creating clothes to that of an artist. The company grew even more successful after his death, in 1895, when his sons Gaston and Jean took over, continuing their father’s characteristic

A THING oF BEAUT Y Opposite: Sketch by balenciaga, 1958, and, this page, the resulting dress

Dessin de Collection and Photographie Studio, Balenciaga Archives, Paris; Katerina Jebb; Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

SALT The company, now with members of the ﬁfth generation of the Swarovski family in key positions, has continued its close association with couture throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. From the drop-waisted ﬂapper dresses of the Roaring Twenties, by Jerôme, heavy with twinkling crystal, through the groundbreaking Aurora Borealis hues developed by Manfred Swarovski and used by Christian Dior in the Fifties, to the moon-dust glow of the LED collection developed by Hussein Chalayan, the company has always worked with designers who are at the cutting edge. Innovation is the soul of couture. It is there that, freed from the more practical constraints of prêt-a-porter clothes, designers can dream and tread where no one has before – often creating shock waves that are felt for decades. This is why Swarovski, – as enthusiastic about investing in innovation and supporting emerging talent as it is in working with the greats, such as Givenchy and Chanel – truly embodies the spirit of Paris haute couture.

Swarovski truly embodies the spirit of Paris haute couture

Much more than simply a show of stunning gowns, curators Olivier Saillard and Anne Zazzo have made Paris Haute Couture educational, celebrating the processes involved, the relationship the industry has long had with culture and literature, and the fashion salons that create the buzz around the pieces on show. Most importantly, the duo emphasize what is arguably Paris’s greatest asset: the artisans who have passed savoir faire down the generations, the work of milliners, embroiderers, and specialists in fur, feathers, pearls and crystals, whose labor by hand for hundreds of hours is required to produce every piece. Names such as Lesage (embroidery), Lemarié, (feathers), Guillet (ﬂowers) and Massaro (shoes) are honored alongside those of designers. And, of course, the ﬁnished pieces will be on show, too – almost 100 haute-couture creations in all their majesty. Saillard and Zazzo have pulled together an impressive array of historic and modern pieces by the likes of Paul Poiret, who notably freed women from corsets and revolutionized design with his modernist draping; Jeanne Lanvin, whose pieces featured virtuoso embroidery and beading; and Coco Chanel, whose legacy of simple, modernist design is still apparent today. The roll-call of star designers on show is long and includes Schiaparelli, Nina Ricci, Vionnet, Carven, Balenciaga, Balmain, Jacques Heim, Christian Dior, Courrèges, Yves Saint Laurent and, of course, founding father Charles Frederick Worth, with his era-defying crystal-encrusted gowns. Paris Haute Couture is at the Hôtel de Ville, Paris, from March 2 to July 6, 2013. Rebecca May Johnson writes for The Telegraph, Monocle and Financial Times Life & Arts

COSTUME DRAMA Opposite: Evening gown by Gustave Beer, 1912. This page: Christian Dior ﬁtting a dress at his Paris salon,1957

international waters the wave Family is the conďŹ dent merger of two design worlds: three-dimensional, graphic and multifaceted, yet still organic and conscious of the shapes that Mother nature creates. Consisting of the wave Flat Back, the wave Bead and the wave Pendant, the wave family evokes the motion of the ocean for aquatic or maritime looks

SALT

FACETS OF A wOmAn SPR I NG / SU M MER 2014 ThE ModERN woMaN dEfIES labElS aNd dEfINITIoNS. a MUlTIfacETEd ShaPEShIfTER, ShE aSSUMES MaNy RolES. aNd Now ThE dESIGN woRld cElEbRaTES hER IN all hER GUISES PHOTOGRAPHY: KEvin mACKinTOSh ST YLInG: Ann ShOrE SeT DeSIGn: DAryL mCgrEgOr

101

‘Cosmic Chic’ bracelet by Marmèn, made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS, available at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED™

MINIMALIST REfINEMENT Classic yet modern, restrained elegance creates a dynamic, purposeful image. Traditional shapes are broken up and reassembled and strong silhouettes are accented with crystal cut with graphic precision.

Force oF Nature the spirit of modern romanticism is untamed and exuberant. Hand-painted, stylized botanical patterns in bold, saturated colors are interspersed with 3D crystal ďŹ&#x201A;owers to vivid effect.

Poetic Radiance Futuristic designs evolve from cutting-edge, progressive technology. crystals create luminescent optical effects, reďŹ&#x201A;ecting and refracting the light, while iridescent shimmering color lends an ethereal, dreamlike quality.

‘Mushroom’ ring by Crystal evolution by Bella r, made with sWaroVski eleMents, available at sWaroVski CrystalliZeD™

My thiCal allure sea-goddess ﬁgures inspire a dramatic, commanding glamour offset by timeless aquatic motifs. Crystal embellishment and pearlescent surfaces reﬂect the light and add an enticing sense of movement.

PhotograPherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistants Ben reeves and thomas Dhanens stylistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant egle trezzi set Designerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant Will Bunce hair Panos Papandrianos at CWM Make-uP attracta Courtney nails Zarra Celik at ClM MoDel elena ivanova at storm

SaLt

many SPLEnDORED THInGS be bewitched by the beauty of SwarovSki elementSâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lateSt creationS, which Sparkle and Shine in Scintillating new ShapeS and ShadeS PHOTOGRAPHy: graeme montgomery

110

CLEAR ADVANTAGE the new Cabochette Bead and Pendant beautifully blend the aesthetic appeal of precision-cut facets with the simple sophistication of a smooth surface

silk ROUTE Opposite: Both timeless and versatile, the new color, Light Silk, provides accents of reďŹ ned splendor and can be combined with classic and on-trend shades alike GOlDEN AGE This page: A luxurious blend of precision-cut crystal and precious metal, the new Crystal Rose Gold effect glimmers with an 18ct rose-gold ďŹ nish

fancy that This page: The spectacular Lemon Fancy Stone is a fresh new interpretation of two classics â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the streamlined Navette shape and the elegant facets of the Chessboard cut life force Opposite: Inspired by the building blocks of all forms of life, the three-armed Molecule Lochrose energizes modern designs, especially when set in dynamic, colorful patterns

all -round SuCCESS This page: The new Crystal Rose Gold Pearl always impresses with its stunning simplicity, and its chic vintage effect will stand the test of time uTTErlY C harmInG Opposite: Whatever the mood or occasion, sparkling BeCharmed PavĂŠs never fail to make a style statement

Photographerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s assistant: Tom Hartford

xirius 10 8 8 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; brilliance redefined TaKinG crYsTal One sTeP clOser TO THe diaMOnd

STOCKISTS SWAROVSKI elementS InteRnAtIOnAl dIStRIbutIOn AG, cOmmunIcAtIOn & cReAtIVe SeRVIce centeRS And tRend & APPlIcAtIOn centeRS

SWAROVSKI elementS InteRnAtIOnAl dIStRIbutIOn AG ASIA & AuStRAlASIA Australia +61 2 83 45 72 00 darren.solo@swarovski.com China, Beijing +86 10 65 97 87 77 China, Dongguan City +86 769 22 76 47 23 China, Guangzhou +86 20 38 13 21 88 swarovski-elements.cn@swarovski.com China, Hong Kong +852 25 66 63 01 swarovski-elements.hk@swarovski.com China, Qingdao +86 532 80 99 95 95 China, Shanghai +86 21 23 06 98 88 China, Shenzhen +86 755 23 60 57 32 China, Zhejiang Province +86 5 79 85 59 09 03 India +91 12 46 14 78 00/12 46 14 79 00 konia.khanna@swarovski.com India, South +91 80 30 27 98 70 nirupama.nair@swarovski.com Indonesia +62 21 29 02 14 51/52/53 ptcrystallized.id@swarovski.com Japan +81 3 67 18 23 82 swarovski-elements.jp@swarovski.com

Turkey +90 21 22 25 44 29 swarovski.turkey@swarovski.com UK +44 20 78 51 99 00 swarovskielements.li@swarovski.com

New Zealand +64 99 70 37 60 vivienne.gee@swarovski.com Singapore +65 66 61 63 33 swarovski-elements.sg@swarovski.com South Korea +82 2 33 95 91 36 lucia.kim@swarovski.com Thailand +66 2 6 35 19 90 sirikarn.ngamboonsin@swarovski.com Vietnam +84 8 62 55 67 68 jeffrey.tan@swarovski.com

mIddle eASt Middle East FZE +971 4 8 81 65 62 info.sme@swarovski.com UAE, Dubai +971 4 2 82 20 27 ofﬁce.dubai@swarovski.com

euROPe Liechtenstein (For Austria, Benelux, Germany, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Switzerland) +423 3 99 57 57 swarovskielements.li@swarovski.com France +33 1 44 76 15 15 cic.france@swarovski.com Greece, Athens +30 21 09 93 30 20 heliana.yiakoumaki@swarovski.com Italy +39 02 72 26 01 swarovskielements.italy@swarovski.com Russia +7 495 2 58 83 02 swarovskielements.li@swarovski.com Spain +34 9 32 85 70 53 swarovskielementsinfo.ses@swarovski.com

France, Paris +33 1 44 76 15 15 cic.france@swarovski.com Italy, Milan +39 02 72 26 01 stefania.fedeli@swarovski.com UK, London +44 20 7851 9901

mIddle eASt UAE, Dubai +971 4 8 81 65 62 penelope.georgakis@swarovski.com bansri.gagwani@swarovski.com

SOutH AmeRICA

Brazil +55 11 30 88 88 21 comercial.br@swarovski.com Mexico +52 55 55 45 45 09

Brazil, São Paolo +55 11 30 88 88 21 comercial.br@swarovski.com

uSA Los Angeles +1 213 4 89 23 93 Rhode Island +1 401 4 63 51 32 elements.sna@swarovski.com

SWAROVSKI elementS COmmunICAtIOn & CReAtIVe SeRVICe CenteRS ASIA India, New Delhi +91 11 46 04 10 00/11 26 13 60 00 konia.khanna@swarovski.com

euROPe Austria, Wattens +43 5224 5 00 33 07 sandra.oconnor@swarovski.com

120

uSA Los Angeles +1 310 6 52 00 89 ext 3813

SWAROVSKI elementS tRend & APPlICAtIOn CenteRS ASIA China, Beijing +86 10 65 97 87 77 China, Guangzhou +86 20 38 13 21 88 China, Hong Kong +852 25 66 63 01 China, Shanghai +86 21 23 06 98 88 Japan, Tokyo +81 3 67 18 23 82 Indonesia, Jakarta +62 21 29 02 14 51/52/53 Singapore +65 62 73 07 07 Thailand, Bangkok +66 26 35 19 90

STOCKISTS SWAROVSKI cORPORAte cOmmunIcAtIOnS & deSIGn SeRVIceS, AtelIeR SWAROVSKI StOcKIStS And SWAROVSKI cRyStAllIzed™ StOcKIStS

SWAROVSKI CORPORAte COmmunICAtIOnS & deSIGn SeRVICeS ASIA

South Korea, Seoul: Je Ne Sais Quoi +82 25 15 31 51 Taiwan, Chinese Taipei: Tun Group +886 2 25 68 18 77

Singapore +65 66 61 63 33

euROPe

euROPe Austria, Wattens +43 5224 500 UK, London +44 20 72 55 84 00 swarovski.tv; swarovskisparkles.com; atelierswarovski.com France, Paris +33 1 42 56 29 84

uSA Los Angeles +1 310 6 52 00 89 ext 3813 New York +1 212 9 35 42 00

AtelIeR SWAROVSKI StOCKIStS ASIA & AuStRAlIA Australia, Melbourne: Christine +61 3 96 54 20 11 Australia, Sydney: Christensen Copenhagen +61 2 93 27 33 77 China, Hong Kong: Sidefame +85 2 29 56 32 66 China (general) themelez.com Japan, Tokyo: Rope +81 3 34 72 42 26 Maldives: One&Only Reethi Rah +960 6 64 88 00 South Korea, Seoul: Corso Como, +82 2 30 18 10 10

Belgium, Brussels: It +32 26 44 10 69 France, Aix-en-Provence: Gago +33 4 42 26 08 52 France, Paris: L’Eclaireur +33 1 48 87 10 22 Ireland, Dublin: Clothes Peg +353 18 32 14 42 Italy, Florence: Luisa Via Roma +39 055 9 06 41 16 Italy, Mantova: In Saloto da Luisa +39 0376 36 38 17 Italy, Milan: Bifﬁ + 39 02 8 31 16 01 Italy, Milan: Corso Como +39 02 29 00 26 74 Spain, Mallorca: Can Cabot Centre +34 9 71 49 58 49 UK, Barrowford: Michelle B +44 1282 605060 UK, Leicester: La Maison de Sacs +44 116 270 2383 UK, London: Couture Lab +44 20 7808 9443 UK, London: Dover Street Market +44 20 7518 0680 UK, London: Harrods +44 20 7730 1234 UK, London: Harvey Nichols +44 20 7235 5000 UK, London: Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ +44 20 7434 3444 UK, Manchester: Flannels, +44 161 931 2593

mIddle eASt & AFRICA UAE, Dubai: Boutique 1, +971 4 44 25 78 88 South Africa: One&Only Cape Town +27 21 4 31 58 88

SOutH AmeRICA Mexico, San José del Cabo: One&Only Palmilla +52 62 41 46 70 53

uSA Las Vegas: Wynn Las Vegas + 1 702 7 70 70 00 New York: Henri Bendel +1 212 2 47 11 00 New York: Swarovski CRYSTALLIZED™ +1 800 873 7578 USA (general) modewalk.com

SWAROVSKI CRYStAllIZed™ StOCKIStS euROPe Austria, Innsbruck +43 512 573 1 00 swarovski.innsbruck@swarovski.com Austria, Vienna +43 1 3 24 00 00 swarovski.wien@swarovski.com Austria, Wattens +43 5224 5 10 80 swarovski.kristallwelten@swarovski.com UK, London +44 20 7434 3444 customerservice.uk@crystallized.com

uSA New York +1 212 9 66 33 22 customerservice.us@crystallized.com

Also available at top Swarovski stores around the world. For full listings, visit atelierswarovski.com

GleAm WORld Opposite, above: Silk-charmeuse wrap scarf dress embroidered with Swarovski Elements. Boots, Gianvito Rossi for Altuzarra. This page, above: Neckpiece in Vintage Rose, Atelier Swarovski by Nicholas Kirkwood

121

CRYSTAL UNIVERSE

world in motion Every crystal tells a story of our ever-shifting planet

CRYSTAL gA zINg a stunning animation illuminates the art of growing crystals in digital form words: NICk SmITh

We don’t often get the chance to see the magic of crystals growing. Some of us will be familiar with the complex science, and most will know that, in the form of salt and snow, they surround us in our everyday lives. But what does it look like when atoms and molecules line up to form mineral crystals in geological processes that normally take millennia? It is now possible to find out for ourselves in three minutes, thanks to Semiconductor, a digital-art duo comprising Ruth Jarman and Joe Gerhardt. Swarovski commissioned the pair to create a short computer-generated animation of the mysterious world of crystal growth for its Digital Crystal exhibition at London’s Design Museum. The resulting film, The Shaping Grows, recreates what happens when geometric crystalline structures grow in a subterranean cavern – they emerge chaotically, says Gerhardt, ‘according to the natural resonance of our shifting planet’. As we watch the film, simple shapes compete to create complex formations,

while time-lapse photographic techniques condense geological eras into moments. The ﬁlm is typical of Semiconductor’s digital art, which explores the material nature of our world and how we experience it. Indeed, the pair aim, through their ﬁlms, to help us question our place in the physical universe. Their previous works, including 2011’s Crystallised, have won countless awards and gained their creators fellowships with globally renowned organizations such as Smithsonian Artists Research and NASA Space Sciences. According to Gerhardt, their digital experiments focus on ‘how you make space and form within a computer’. When building three-dimensional objects in a virtual world, the simplest to work with are tetrahedrons, which leads to a perfect partnership for animating the way crystals grow naturally. ‘This allows us to demonstrate how landscapes take shape at the atomic level,’ he explains.

122

Jarman explains the background to the project: ‘For The Shaping Grows, we prepared and researched over six months at the Department of Mineral Sciences at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC, where the volcano section has a huge mineral-crystal collection. We talked to vulcanologists there about how mineral crystals grow and form, and the different conditions required.’ But what really inspired the duo was the phenomenon of ‘inclusions’ within growing crystals, where particles from the surroundings are absorbed into the structure. The Shaping Grows shows how every crystal stores the memories of its making and can be read to learn the story of its evolution. ‘We really liked the theme of memory explored in Swarovski’s Digital Crystal exhibition and the opportunity to respond to it creatively,’ adds Jarman. Nick Smith is a contributing editor on The Explorers Journal and a former editor of Geographical

Mawi necklace Philippe Audibert creoles Jayde by Melissa Kandiyoti bangle Find more designer collections at SWAROVSKI CRYSTALLIZED TM

Xirius

1088

Brilliance redefined â&#x20AC;&#x201C; One Step clOSer tO the diamOnd