Showing posts with label Dominic Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dominic Jones. Show all posts

Friday, September 17, 2010

SWAROVSKI LFW PREVIEW: DOMINIC JONES

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Me and Dominic Jones

I was lucky enough to be the first journalist on a high circulation magazine to cover the talent that is Dominic Jones. I'll never forget meeting him at Dover Street Market on the night Stephen Jones launched his perfume in collaboration with Comme des Gardons. Dominic told me his plan for a jewellery collection that "has the look of fine jewellery, but is in fact gold-plated to a deeper degree than usual gold plating, thus giving it a more luxurious look."

He said he wanted his peers to be able to afford high-end jewellery. It was a blindingly good idea from the start and with Dominic's charm, talent for sculpture, eye for what cool kids want from their jewellery, and backing from his close friend Alice Dellal he was always going to do alright. And he has. We are now two years down the line, and selling through Net-a-Porter means he can relax on  the cash-flow front and get on with working.

Dominic's incredibly strong SS11 collection

SS11 INSPIRATIONS
"My last two collections were quite literal. The first was inspired by fangs, then the second was based on skulls and beetles. This time I developed the collection from two sculptures I created in miniature. I played with their proportions to recreate different parts of them as jewellery. At the NEWGEN area at LFW I will be displaying two meter high versions of the sculptures made from jesmonite and polystyrene."

"My reference points were the sculpture of Barbara Hepworth, Art Deco and the rest came from me. I love working and through the process the shapes came out. Making is what I love doing most.  I used Swarovskis even though they don't officially sponsor me. Though there is talk of me working on the Atelier range, which would be very exciting as working with crystals is second nature. This is my most instinctive collection, and I am so proud of it."

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

DOMINIC JONES SCARES ME IN A GOOD WAY FOR LFW

Posted by Fashion Editor at Large

Alice Dellal and Dominic Jones

A year and a half ago up-and-coming British jeweller Dominic Jones was living in the notorious London squat known as "Squallyoaks" because he said "there was more drama there in one week than the omnibus of Hollyoaks". Then he came up with a jewellery range of high-end looking fierce pieces made using gold plate ten times thicker than the usual, but with an affordable heart. His idea was to create jewellery that his generation could afford and not just love from afar. I remember meeting him at a Dover Street Market party to launch Stephen Jones perfume, and being impressed by both his grey/blue hair (he is definitively ahead of the fashion curve), his endearing manner and his clear talent; he was wearing his own instantly covetable fang jewellery. He set up his business with funding from the punky model Alice Dellal, one of his best friends, and his first season saw his jewellery go global. Then Anna Wintour came knocking; then he got NewGen sponsorship.

Could he sustain the hype for his second collection? This is the all important question with any young designer, and having seen his new collection go from an idea he told me about over coffee in my Paris hotel last season, "I'm thinking about skulls," I can say he is moving steadily in the right direction! Here is an exclusive preview of his Autumn/Winter collection.
The "Vampire Bat Skull Heart Pendant" by Dominic Jones for AW10

The new collection is both beautiful and challenging inspired as it is by skulls, scorpions and beetles. "You would run a mile from these things in real life, they are pretty intimidating, but I hope I have made them desirable," says Dom. The model shown is 15 year old Daphne, who is represented by Union. The Dutch girl is already a hot property and has been modelling for just one month. She won't be allowed to walk for a catwalk show until she is 16.  The "Vampire Bat Skull Heart Pendant," was initially created by fusing two anatomically correct and to scale Vampire Bat skulls. We will bring the rest of the collection to you on Saturday.  Thanks for the preview Dom! Good luck (you won't need it). FEAL xxx

Image: by Aitken Jolly
Styling: Francesca Burns
Photo of Dominic and Alice from http://weblog.brownsfashion.com/