SOLANGE AZAGURY- PARTRIDGE
What impresses most about British designer Solange Azagury-partridge’s work is the way she draws upon her forward-thinking vision. Her unconventional jewels lend themselves beautifully to her design wizardry. The rather radical interpretations of jewellery could be traced back to her own engagement ring — a gold Bombe with a natural octahedral diamond emerging from the dome and set off-centre. “I wanted something more youthful, less traditional, a bit tough,” she recalls.
Commissions followed, setting the creative ball rolling for the designer. During her three-year tenure as a Creative Director for Boucheron, she envisioned three strong collections — Dangerous Beauty, Not Bourgeois and Quatre — and in the process, also gained confidence in her abilities. “It taught me how a bigger enterprise worked and how to apply better systems to my own business. I ultimately learned that small is beautiful in business,” she reflects.
The one-off spectacular pieces that shape her own line — Solange — are more than just visually appealing. Striking designs hinge on a concept or a story. She asserts: “I would like my jewellery to have a reason and inner life that transcends its material and visual properties, for it to bring joy to the wearer.” Conjuring up joy, her eye-popping Poptails collection takes the cocktail ring to its zenith. “The idea of Poptails was to make sure it was noticeable, to obviate the need to wear any other jewellery.”
Nurturing an avant-garde approach, she morphed the classic five elements in nature into her Supernature series, and managed to evoke fascination through her Scribbles collection. Needless to say, every collection is an exciting revelation of Solange’s genius and creativity.
For more information, visit www.solange.co.uk.