Frisk Fashion Folder: 2011

Friday, March 4, 2011

Maritime Jewelry

We recently asked Flotsam and Jetsam designer Rebekah Harris a couple of questions about her jewelry line and personal style

Who are your fashion icons? Who are you inspired by?

Jewelry straddles the fashion and art world in my mind. It might be sold side by side with clothing and it may be worn, but like a tattoo you can wear it everyday, and it does not exactly re invent itself every season. My inspirations are rarely fashion designers but sculptors, architects, and blacksmiths. There was a famous jeweler/sculptor Benvenuto Cellini, who was a sorcerer of sculpture. He was a master of form, his casting methods were groundbreaking in their time. He was so ahead of the game people thought he dabbled in the black arts. In architecture I adore the Italian architect Carlo Scarpa and the Japanese architect, Tadao Ando, whom both place great importance in the element water and its flow in their forms. The Brazilian architect, Oscar Neimeyer and the British blacksmith, Anthony Robbins are masters of interpreting sexual and soft organic curves in rigid materials like concrete and steel.

How would you describe your current personal style?

If you were to draw a cartoon of me, as long as there were boots, it would be recognizable. I basically wear boots every day. New York can be filthy and I like a good barrier between the streets and my feets. I am also a great fan of flowing and drapey. I am very fortunate to work in Japan every year where I hunt for a kimono for my collection. When not in Japan, I find myself collecting sinuous shawls. I believe your hair is also a great part of your style. Bouffants and warrior braids can take any look to the next level.

Who do you design for? Who is your dream client?

It might sound vampiric, but the young and innocent are my dream clients. Mwahh haahh haah. Seriously though, I remember being a girl in a small town and searching for the obscure. My dream client is a young girl that dreams big, who wants to taste the world. I would hope that my work would incite her imagination and continue to be a part of her style as she sheds her small town and travels, and not wane in interest, as she grows older and wiser.

What’s a fashion trend/look you would never wear?

I would never want to wear a frown.

Thanks Rebekah. I wear your double ring every day and get a million compliments.