Interested in the grey area that can exist between jewelry and apparel, I chose to make a piece inspired by the couture house Balmain. Balmain's use of embellishment approaches that ambiguity from the apparel end of the spectrum, and I saw an opportunity to interpret the work from a jeweler's point of view.

 

Almost any of Balmain's collections would've worked with my concept, but ultimately I chose Olivier Rousteing's faberge-egg inspired Fall 2012 designs as my main source. Using ready-made materials, including faux pearls and several pounds of gold-plated steel jump rings, I built the piece on a dress form, sketching over pictures and reacting constantly to the different ways the metal fell.

 

Though I've experimented with apparel-esque jewelry in the past, this piece seems the most effective at achieving that aim. Conflating my love of chainmail and pearls, the piece suits Balmain without losing my voice as a designer.