(PARIS) Delfina Delettrez presented her latest collection at the Almine Rech gallery during Paris Fashion Week to a slew of fashion notables that included everyone from Mario Testino, Haider Ackermann, Franca Sozzani, Natalia Vodianova, Erdem Moralioglu, and Mary Katrantzou, not to mention a few Picasso descendants. Guests walked into a completely white space with a long table where ceramic plates held jewelry levitated in the air above the table. Plus, cocktails were served in beauty containers…much to the confusion and amusement of editors like Hamish Bowles, who was seen inspecting a spray bottle that contained a gin cocktail. Delettrez (last name Fendi), may come from a family of fashion titans, but she’s carving out her own path. If all the chicettes wearing her jewelry during PFW are any indication, she’s the “it” jewelry designer du moment.
BY PAIGE REDDINGER
Cool setting! Tell us about the levitating display plates.
The inspiration was gravity mixed with rarity and the vanity room, where I displayed pieces with more important stones. It’s the concept of subtraction and making everything levitate. With the jewelry, I tried to use phantom settings to make them look as if they were floating. It’s like a cascade of stone and pearls just fell on you and magically attached to your body. It goes with the installation. The jewelry are resting on plates, which are actually levitating on the table.
There seems to be a watch motif running through the collection. Were you thinking about time?
The collection is called “Never too light”, which comes from “Never too late”. When making these watches, I took away the functionality of the watch. I took away the time by taking away the face of the watch, and just left the aesthetic function. They’re made of big quartz like a watch. So they’re half bracelets and half masculine watches. Everything looks like it’s half floating on the body. It’s a good excuse when you run late because you can just say, “Sorry, I had no time!”
What other materials did you work with this season?
I used quartz, topaz, diamonds, peridots, pearls, and gold.
We’ve seen everyone wearing your jewelry throughout Paris. How do you feel about how much your career has taken off?
It still shocks me when I see someone wearing my jewelry! I’m super happy. I’m taking it seriously, but at the same time I’m still having fun. I don’t feel the weight of a full time job…which it is.
What’s your secret to making your mark in the jewelry biz?
I think you need to break the rules a little bit, especially in such an ancestral art such as jewelry. You need to find your personal codes and continue to find new techniques and new ways of wearing jewelry and having fun. You can’t see it as something too serious!
