Whorl flower: the sinuous, sculpted creations of Charlotte Chesnais
After accessory-design stints at Ungaro, Paco Rabanne and Balenciaga, Charlotte Chesnais’ fashion credentials are undoubted. That she doesn’t allow them to eclipse her fine-art instinct makes hers a standout name in the new wave of fine jewellers.
As if gently twisted out of a never-ending coil of metal, her rings and earrings curve and swoop around the body. Anthony Caro is an inspiration and it shows. Purity of materials is Chesnais' creative starting point and it’s the soft and tubular – as opposed to fine and flat – metal lengths that add a particularly sensuous quality to her silver and gold-plate jewellery.
Her current collection further reveals a sculptor’s instinct: 'I bought a vintage Italian lamp from the 1970s composed of several metallic petals. The shape inspired me a lot and seemed to fit quite naturally with the existing code of my work. It was one of the starting point of the first collection.'
Pre-empting a new focus – colour – the Paris-based jewellery designer customised her 'Petal' earring and 'Saturn' ring in graduated gold and silver for our fashion issue. 'I am working on a small collection using stones and precious metals,' she confirms, 'but that’s all I can tell you for now'. It goes without saying that her signature structural simplicity will remain intact.
As originally featured in the March 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*204)
INFORMATION
For more information, visit Charlotte Chesnais’ website
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Caragh McKay has been a contributing editor at Wallpaper* since 2014. She was previously watches & jewellery director and is currently our resident lifestyle & shopping editor. Caragh has produced exhibitions and created and edited titles for publishers including the Daily Telegraph. She regularly chairs talks for luxury houses, Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier among them. Caragh’s current remit is cross-cultural and her recent stories include the curious tale of how Muhammad Ali met his poetic match in Robert Burns and how a Martin Scorsese film revived a forgotten Osage art.
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