By Francesca Fearon in London
The looping squiggles of black, yellow and rose gold resemble sound waves that frenetically scrawl their way around necks, wrists and fingers in Gaia Repossi's new collection, White Noise.
The linear group of gold cuffs, collars and rings, some sparkling with diamonds, has been inspired in part by American sculptor Alexander Calder's kinetic Suspensions, explains creative director Gaia Repossi, which create a sense of freedom and movement in her designs. "I wanted to work with the architecture of the jewellery and the shadowy patterns created when seen off the hand," she says.
The palette of gold tones, meanwhile, was influenced by the work of Austrian artist Franz West, whose work she was introduced to by her boyfriend, the artist Jeremy Everett. "It makes the jewellery look very modern yet like a contemporary classic when worn."
Gaia Repossi is the third generation to helm her family's Italian fine jewellery house, Repossi. Although based on Place Vendôme, "we still use the same ateliers as my grandfather and father in northern Italy," she explains. "The head of the atelier is the same person who worked with my father for 30 years."
Raised in the south of France surrounded by statement gems created by her father Alberto Repossi, these are not Gaia's personal style. "I would not wear a single jewel as a teenager. I think it's only when you look at design in a radical way, with a strong desire to shift things, that jewellery gets interesting," she says.
Joining the business in 2007, when she was 22, she is famed for her Berbère and black-gold Art Nouveau Nérée collections. Her minimalist Berbère ring and ear cuffs have a huge fan base in the world of entertainment.
"I am trying to propose jewellery that is timeless and yet slightly ahead of its time to surprise and create new codes for the house," she says. "I don't think it is me that is necessarily moving the brand in a new direction. I think it is time for jewellery to be renewed, for it to be in harmony and created with an awareness of our time."
The new Repossi White Noise collection is available at Dover Street Market.
