Delfina Delettrez Lends an Ear
Ear cuffs are having a fashion moment, something which Delfina Delettrez’s Fall 2014 “Dots” earrings capture precisely. But Delettrez, who launched her eponymous jewelry collection in 2007, is not one to jump on the fashion trend bandwagon. Juxtaposition of materials, a harkening to the human form, a subtle edge of whimsy—these have long been facets of Delettrez’s unique core aesthetic, and it’s no surprise people are taking notice.
The Italian designer takes care to imbue nature and the human body into her work; during New York Fashion week, she displayed pieces from her Spring and Fall 2014 collections at New York’s Dover Street Market on sculpted replicas of her jewelry’s intended body parts. The result is jarring, if not ironically logical. Delettrez says of the intended effect, “It’s quite logical to showcase my pieces on hands, ears, and fingers because the pieces are more and more related to the body.” The pieces themselves come from an acute awareness of the human form, “I like the idea that your jewelry blends in your body, as part of it, almost as an extension of it. Like precious and high-performing mechanical limbs. Almost like futuristic armor.”
A fourth-generation Fendi, Delettrez broke into the jewelry scene with her triple skull rings and gothic, nature-driven collections. A wide enamel eye, an incredibly detailed bee, and a signature pout have since been added to the brand’s mainstays, often hanging off a pearl earring stud with a gold support. Delfina describes the evolution in her designs as a natural growth, but with greater skills come greater possibilities, and the horizons of what she can do with a combination of gold, silver, marble, resin, glass, and wood have opened up considerably. “At the beginning, I was working mainly using lost-wax casting. Little by little I’ve been growing and today I feel much more confident. I’m still very much attracted by nature, which I believe is the most incredible and perfect creative project.”
DELFINA DELETTREZ’S SPRING 2014 COLLECTION IS CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT DOVER STREET MARKET IN NEW YORK CITY.
