INSTANT CONNECTION
A fine-jewellery label, borne of two Instagram-savvy Italians, makes modern classics to outlast any social media trend. By Alice Birrell.
A fine-jewellery label, borne of two Instagramsavvy Italians, makes modern classics to outlast any social media trend.
OPEN TO INTERPRETATION. This is the only missive Chiara Capitani and Romy Blanga, founders of Eéra, give clients on how to wear their gold, pavé diamond and neon-coated fine jewellery. “We love that we are creating something that helps women express themselves, which is why we love seeing what customers do with our customisable pieces,” says Blanga, who has a background in fashion PR. The sentiment strikes the right note for right now: offering, not dictating, a way to translate personal style. In a somewhat revelatory format for a fine-jewellery label, some components are sold separately, made to be mixed and matched at the wearer’s desire.
How this works is with delicate links, which can be snapped together or easily taken apart, as well as convertible pieces, such as rings that can be slipped onto earrings for extra drop, and necklace centrepieces that can either be used to join elements or be twisted so they dangle elegantly from a chain. The label’s signature geometric earrings, in rectangular and S-shaped clips, are getting considerable play on social media, peppering the ears of fellow Italians Gilda Ambrosio and Chiara Ferragni, as well as shoe designer Amina Muaddi and celebrity followers Dua Lipa and Hailey Bieber.
It was something far more garden-variety, however – a carabiner, the kind used for rock climbing, found in a Tokyo vintage shop – that became the crucial inspiration for the less-than-one-year-old label. Drawn to the piece of discarded ephemera, Blanga and Capitani mulled over the possibilities of its open/close function. “We experimented with the utilitarian shape and our first collection evolved from there,” says Capitani.
Industrial but feminine, the pieces, available in Australia at Harrolds, draw on the founders’ mutual backgrounds in fashion (Capitani has consulted for various design houses and Blanga now works in brand management). Together, they have consciously created styles that feel current but will stay in personal collections for generations. “We’ve always loved jewellery,” says Capitani. “The women in our families have always worn a lot of it and many pieces have been passed down to us. We felt that there was room for a brand that approached classic fine jewellery from a more modern standpoint.”
Diverse sources of inspiration – such as Ettore Sottsass (a leading aesthete of the Memphis Group), the ordered chaos of Carlo Giovannoni’s forms, Martin Margiela, and Cartier’s “luxurious approach to utilitarian shapes” – have informed their entire offering. Chunky (but not imposingly so) chokers and a small handful of rings carry on the label’s hardwearing but feminine feel. Colour – supercharged green and pink, in particular – does well for the pair. Next up, they’re planning to introduce new shades, shapes and stones.
“We enjoy letting the creative process play out and seeing where it goes, which means we’re pretty experimental when it comes to materials,” says Blanga. And so, happily, are their customers. “A friend of ours has many piercings and filled each one with a different coloured snap hook, adding the diamond-encrusted rings to the largest one. They looked so beautiful and striking together.”