Hannah Martin’s punkish jewellery gets ‘bigger and louder’

When London jeweller Hannah Martin says she was inspired by the subversive sensuality of Robert Mapplethorpe and Tom of Finland for her new jewellery collection, you know it is going to be good. Martin’s jewellery is a celebration of contrasts: the rough and the smooth, the hard and the soft, the sexy and the ambiguous.

But how does this translate to the jewellery itself? For the second part of ‘The Perfect Drug’ collection, Martin brings the previously unseen to the fore, with a tough, hard-wearing functionality taking shape in chainmail, hooks and clasps. Punkish leather bracelets are pierced with studs of yellow gold, and soft grey pearls spikily cradle the finger. Diamonds are reverse-set, and orbs of ebony dangle from the earlobe. In Martin’s world, jewellery takes its cues from the counterculture.

Hannah Martin on punkish jewellery design

Wallpaper*: How does this collection build on the tough design codes of the first edition?

Hannah Martin: Both were born of the same emotion – they came out of the same world so to speak – but for me, ‘Drop 02’ takes things a step further into the industrial design codes. I saw it as a chance to double-down on what I started, amplifying what I started and doing it bigger and louder.

‘Drop 02’ definitely goes heavier into the harness/strap story (both soft and hard). And focuses on the studs and harness fixtures particularly – the ‘functional’ components of straps and harnesses. I have chosen to make design features the focal point, rather than just the ‘useful’ part that no one notices. I was playing with scale a lot, so a lot of these fixtures are very much over-sized and in-your-face big. I like that they are unnecessarily monumental in size; it feels rebellious in itself, and at the same time very luxurious.

W*: Can you tell us a bit about how you have utilised classic punk symbols?

HM: The ‘studded strap’ design story comes into its own in ‘Drop 02’, and is a very personal punk symbolism. Not only is it based on the leather wristbands related to this scene, it is based on a very specific one – my little sister’s. I found it when we were clearing out my parents’ attic, and the shape of it was so perfect, it still held her wrist shape after all the years she’d worn it, sweated in it, moshed in it. I love that it has made its appearance here, made of precious materials.

W*: The juxtaposition of metals and styles brings a very wearable coolness to the jewellery. Why did you want to embrace contrasting designs here?

HM: I always want people to wear the jewellery I design as part of their lives, not just for ‘special occasions’. I want the pieces to feel natural, with that slight DIY-punk vibe to them – like you’ve just picked something up and thrown it on, and it looks effortlessly cool, you know.

Mixing metals helps this. I wear all my metals mixed up, always have. There’s something much less formal about this. By doing this within the pieces themselves, it helps people loosen up to the idea. It also means you can wear these pieces with anything within your existing collection. For me, it is always about getting away from anything remotely traditional or expected.

hannahmartinlondon.com