‘I like the unexpected, though I avoid the unpredictable,’ says Italian jewellery designer Francesca Villa, who translates a love of travel and cosmopolitan cultures into playful and innovative designs. ‘Many people work in their own atelier, considering it to be a place to hide. I prefer to free myself and get in touch with the world by travelling, a unique chance for discovery and enrichment, inseparable from my work.’
Her new collection ‘Twiggy’ draws on the easy bohemianism of the 1960s, inspired by the eponymous supermodel’s natural aesthetic. Vintage buttons on a minidress and a plethora of bold hues are translated into irregularly set stones and vivid gems in the capsule collection of seven one-of-a-kind pieces.
‘All my creations look for the eclectic, because it’s an aspect I very much value, knowing that jewellery is a practice open to ideas and experimentation. Actually, unusual materials must be carefully managed, as they can easily become overtly extravagant and spoil the appeal of the jewel,’ adds Villa.
In the new alternative rings, composed of rose gold, semi-precious stones and titanium, a thoughtful play on contrasts celebrates the joy of juxtaposition. Stones including peridots, orange sapphires, tsavorites, amethysts and aquamarine frame vividly drawn patterns enamelled by hand. ‘The biggest challenge is to consider such patterns as a starting point to be built upon. For this reason, the regular geometry decorating the vintage buttons is sort of counterbalanced by the ostensible disorder of the coloured stones set all around,’ says Villa.
The ‘Twiggy’ rings are not only a celebration of the 1960s, but also of the supermodel herself. ‘I admire Twiggy’s capacity to be way ahead of her time while being fully part of it,’ Villa says. ‘I’d love my creations to bring forward new paths as much as plunge into the present.’
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