COLLECTION Christopher Kane, S/S12, © Josh Olins, Trunk Archive
I played with as a child; they only associated Swarovski with the figurines. I wanted to share the stories I grew up with, hearing how my grandfather worked with Christian Dior and Coco Chanel. He understood the importance of putting our crystal in the hands of great designers and I wanted to do the same. I wanted to work with a designer who was the equivalent of Coco Chanel. Of course, it was McQueen. This collaboration created a blueprint that we have used to work with creative talent across the different industries. We are fortunate to have worked with some of the 21st century’s most exciting design talents. These include luminaries such as Ron Arad, Zaha Hadid, Tom Dixon, Ross Lovegrove, Tord Boontje, Yves Béhar and the Bouroullec brothers. All our collaborations have been inspirational in the way they pushed the boundaries and responded to the medium of crystal. Supporting emerging talent is so important because that is the source of creativity, and creativity to us is essential in terms of the evolution of the product, or at least in terms of the evolution of the use of the product. The aim of the Swarovski Collective is twofold – to support emerging talent but also to deepen our relationships with established fashion talent. We started it when working with McQueen in the late 1990s and it’s hard to believe that earlier this year we awarded Peter Pilotto our inaugural Swarovski Collective Prize to mark its 15th anniversary. For S/S16 and A/W16, the Collective includes some really exciting new designers in London, Paris and New York, as well as many of last season’s returning talent. Putting our crystal in the hands of these young fashion visionaries and giving them our support is truly rewarding, and the results can be breathtaking. London is such an amazing creative hub: it draws and inspires talents from across the world. The designers that make it their home are among the most innovative in the world. Our London offices are in Mayfair, just around the corner from Savile Row, and I have always loved the area’s mix of fashion, art, luxury and craftsmanship. The retail scene is so vibrant now and many of our closest collaborators, such as Erdem, Nicholas Kirkwood, Hussein Chalayan, Shaun Leane and Stephen Webster, have shops nearby.
042
We are honoured that the V&A’s director, Martin Roth, will be hosting and moderating our talk [on 13 October]. We worked together on the recent McQueen exhibition and he has a true appreciation of what we are trying to do in supporting creative talents from across the design disciplines. Colin McDowell is one of our most distinguished fashion historians and commentators, so expect a wide-ranging and stimulating discussion on why so many designers are passionate about using crystal as a creative ingredient.
© Swarovski: Celebrating a History of Collaborations in Fashion, Jewelry, Performance, and Design, Rizzoli New York, 2015
SWAROVSKI: Celebrating a History of Collaborations in Fashion, Jewelry, Performance, and Design, £60, Rizzoli New York. Preface by Nadja Swarovski, foreword by Suzy Menkes, introduction by Alice Rawsthorn and texts by Vivienne Becker, Deborah Nadoolman Landis, Deyan Sudjic and Colin McDowell
s l u x u ry l o n d o n . c o. u k s