New York jewellery designer Mateo launches first women's collection
Matthew 'Mateo' Harris might not be a household name in the fashion world yet, but that may just be down to a matter of time. Since setting up his eponymous jewellery label in 2011 at age 26, the young jewellery designer has enjoyed significant success with his popular men's collections, which combine utilitarian, urban motifs like screws, nails and mechanical wheels, with a wearable everyday nonchalance.
For spring 2015, the Jamaican-born Harris has made a distinct departure from his wheelhouse to launch his first women's collection, 'La Barre'. Elegant, discreet and refined, the debut range is predominantly comprised of slender gold bars that Harris has turned into delicate rings, bracelets and earrings. Decorated with tiny diamonds or with similarly thin rectangles of onyx and malachite, each piece exudes a distinct architectural quality.
'This collection started from one simple gold bar. I made a bracelet for myself, one thin gold bar bracelet. I wanted to make something minimal and clean. It’s chic, timeless and something you can wear everyday,' says Harris of his handmade pieces. 'I want to make affordable jewellery for my age group.'
Working on the women's collection allowed Harris to reassess his creative point of view. Now aged 29, the designer has consciously veered away from the statement motifs of Mateo's men's range, despite its continued success, and enjoys focusing on finer details. In the women's range, thin gold collar necklaces are finished with fine gold chains that hang seductively past the collarbone, while sculptural T-bar and parallel bar rings catch the eye with their subtle detail.
What makes Mateo's covetable pieces even more impressive is that Harris is completely self-taught. After moving from Jamaica to the United States at age 16 for his studies, and falling into modelling for a time, he worked in sales and marketing at a jewellery gallery in New York City when he had his light bulb moment. He explains, 'I realised that I actually liked this jewellery business, so I went to 47th Street [in Manhattan’s jewellery district], bought a sketchpad, bought wax, my tools and started to carve and design.'
At the moment, the designer is finessing his pre-fall 2015 collection, which boasts sculpted cage-like forms inspired by the architecture of Norman Foster (with which Harris quip he is 'obsessed'). It also uses the changing colours of autumnal foliage as another creative starting point. With collections timed to follow the fashion runway calendar, we’d recommend keeping a close eye on Mateo and all the surprises it has in store.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Pei-Ru Keh is a former US Editor at Wallpaper*. Born and raised in Singapore, she has been a New Yorker since 2013. Pei-Ru held various titles at Wallpaper* between 2007 and 2023. She reports on design, tech, art, architecture, fashion, beauty and lifestyle happenings in the United States, both in print and digitally. Pei-Ru took a key role in championing diversity and representation within Wallpaper's content pillars, actively seeking out stories that reflect a wide range of perspectives. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children, and is currently learning how to drive.
-
Human gestures shape Milano Cortina 2026's Winter Olympic look
Italian spirit is at the heart of the upcoming Winter Olympic games with pictograms, emblems, and mascots called the 'Vibes'. The idea is to celebrates the Italian way of communicating through expressive movements and gestures
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
What happens when a Chanel watch becomes a sound machine?
Meet the Chanel Première Sound – an adaptable necklace with a watch and removable earphones
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Sunshine noir is given an unsettling spin in new film ‘Skincare’; meet the director
Best known for music videos, director and writer of ‘Skincare’ Austin Peters on how he created the film’s bright, ominous world
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Art takes London: Tiffany & Co, Damien Hirst and artists take over Selfridges' windows
Four British contemporary artists celebrate Tiffany & Co's pioneering history with a series of storied window displays
By Anne Soward Published
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden Hour
Late summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
By Caragh McKay Published
-
Shinola’s Elijah McCoy pocket watch pays homage to the pioneering locomotive engineer
Shinola continues its Great American series with the Elijah McCoy Mechanic 45mm pocket watch
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Lugano’s versatile high jewellery pieces are too good to save for special occasions
Californian brand Lugano embraces unexpected materials and cool design codes in its informal high jewellery
By Hannah Silver Published
-
‘Given hip-hop’s roots in New York, the chance to tell this story in this city is very special’
The American Museum of Natural History plays a blinder with ‘Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry’, a cultural trip through jewellery design
By Caragh McKay Published
-
The American watch brands to know now
From Autodromo to JN Shapiro, American watch brands are having a moment
By Chris Hall Published
-
All smiles: How a grillz jewellery making class in London became an international hit
What started as a passion project quickly exploded in popularity. We get the story behind the grillz-making workshop at Cockpit London
By Elisa Anniss Published
-
Emerging jewellery designers to get to know
These independent, new and emerging jewellery designers and brands from New York to Paris are firmly on our radar
By Hannah Silver Published