Concrete Fashion

Architecturally designed jewelry is always intriguing. Frank Gehry has had a collection at Tiffany & Co. for a few years now. The various themes are; fish (images 1&2) torque, morph (image 3), orchid, flux, etc.

Frank Gehry's jewelry for Tiffany & Co.

The shapes are very reminiscent of his exterior architectural aesthetic. The skin his buildings stretch and ooze leaving to the imagination the interior program. These whimsical stylings are very intriguing, but what if architectural/building elements become adornments?

Frank Gehry's Dancing Building and Music Pavillion.

Canadian jewelry designer Karen Konzuk uses architectural and design elements as actual personal accessories. She has embraced her vision of simple and clean accessories where the materials speak for themselves without the need of overly complicated ornamentation. “Konzuk jewelry, with its highly personal elements such as a subtle use of color and an innovative use of materials, is faithful to the clean, minimalist aesthetic of contemporary industrial design and architecture,” is how the fashion is explained on the Konzuk website. Not only are building materials such as concrete, steel, and powder coated enamel celebrated for aesthetic purposes on this minute scale, but they also use design based mechanisms for production such as CNC machines, laser cutters and photoengraving. The themes that Karen Konzuk portrays effectively to buyers are that of individuality, durability, designed strength, color, and beauty.

Konzuk Jewelry Collections

I love the pieces for their simplistic and clean design and the celebration of strength and beauty of manmade materials. I also admire the truth in her design. The Konzuk blog features an inspiration section posted by Karen Konzuk that include mostly architectural images that sparked each of her collections.