In German, the word Kaputt means “broken”. And that is the name for a new collection of
crystals from the Austrian house of Swarovski, designed by French haute couture ‘rebel’
and design genius, Jean Paul Gaultier who champions the art of ‘imperfection’ for the new family of Kaputt crystals.
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| Photo courtesy of Swarovski |
Accordingly, following a visit to Swarovski headquarters in
2013, Gaulter was inspired to create a crystal design of his own and felt that
the only way to make something that is already perfect, was to make it new by
adding a unique touch of imperfection.
Combined with the technical expertise of Swarovski, Gaultier’s
creative idea came into fruition a year later, after much experimentation and
adjustments, and the new Kaputt collection was created featuring multi-faceted stones
with random rugged surfaces and enhanced by a contrasting effect between clear
and matt glass finish.
The new
collection are to complement Swwarovski's Autumn/Winter 2016-17 collection, and consists of two pendants and three fancy stones
in rich shimmering metallic colours that highlight the stones' irregular
forms.
Perfectly imperfect – as Gaultier
likes it.
Additionally to complement the Kaputt collection are stones
and pearls in a Crystal Scrabaeus Green effect.
The stunning colour is mesmerising, as these take on colours that
consist of a combination of green, alternating with blue-purple and tarnished
copper like those of the scarab beetle once worshipped by the ancient
Egyptians. According to Wikipedia, the scarab was seen as “a symbol of (a)
heavenly cycle and of the idea of rebirth or regeneration."
Inspiration for the design also came from the Verdigris roof
of the Paris Opera House - a bright bluish-green encrustation or patina formed
on copper or brass by atmospheric oxidation, consisting of basic copper
carbonate. The story goes that when
Gaultier was a young lad, he would frequently go past the opera house and was
fascinated by the green colouring of the tarnished copper roof.
(Click HERE to go to “This is Personal”, to learn how you
can customise your unique Swarovski crystal to create a bespoke gem for your
own personalised jewellery.)
All photos by Lucia Carpio for My Fashion Connect unless otherwise captioned.
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