At this time of year, when the season is gradually starting to grow cold and we are drawn to those things that brighten up our day, we have a real gem of an interview for you all...meet the jewelry designer, Shourouk...this Paris native is making mega waves in the design scene with her wonderfully ornate creations. Well, considering she trained at Chloé, Galiano and and Cavalli, she has had enough heady influence to bring us the remarkable confections (now includiong a bag selection) we are craving for! She took some time out to answer a few questions (thank you for that!) and we were dazzled indeed...
1. What is the inspiration behind the new collection?
This SS15 collection talks about my bejeweled secret garden. The pastel colors of Jacques Demy films have rocked my childhood and so films like “Les demoiselles de Rochefort” or “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” inspired me this season. I tried to capture the ladylike purest expression of Spring with my crystal flowers but falling into a surrealist chaos. Is all about the 60’s and the dazzling charm of the bourgeoisie with those technicoloured pastels. I reinvented the Acapulco bag embellished with flowers and butterflies that come also to decorate my first line of jellyfishes…a word where plastic is fantastic!
2. When you design, is it for a particular woman?
Any kind of woman could be wearing Shourouk’s. Those are versatile designs; a more classical woman could find herself attracted to the more joaillerie aspect of them, with the emerald, deep blue and crystal. Someone with a high-‐fashion look will go for strong bright colors, statement pieces. The range of Shourouk client is quite wide, as it shows on the celebrities wearing the brand; you can have Michelle Obama elegant, more classical as well as Anna Dello Russo who is completely eccentric.
3. Are there plans for a men's collection?
I would like to bling-‐bling guys one day, yesssss!!
4. Are you a fan of vintage accessories?
Personally, I love mix & match, that’s what makes your style so personal and you will find the key to be original. It is not to follow a precise trend or to buy a complete outfit from one big designer; it is more about reflecting your lifestyle and feeling like yourself. You just have to think outside the box and mix luxury, with vintage, or traditional or even cheap! For the vintage clothes it is not really about label, it is more about taste. You have to look hard to find the right piece, with the right color or print and that will match with your own style. I recently bought a pair of Balenciaga court shoe that I love because they could look totally vintage!
5. What jewelry do you wear each day? Do you have one piece you always wear?
My PVC Acapulco Bag!!! I customized it for me, I can’t stop wearing it, is fresh is new and it has the perfect size, big enough to have all what you need inside! In terms of jewels I can’t stop wearing my Tubular necklace black & white of the FW14 with the earrings that are on the same sequins colors…it has a magical touch, modern & fashionable! Also I have to say that, all the seasons I try to surprise with a special bag and for this collection baptized “Brigitte” I create my 1st line of rubber Pannier. It is my favorite piece of the SS15!!! I think is going to be the next piece I will never separate myself of!
6. What would your advice be to someone buying jewelry for the first time?
That jewels are made just for have fun! There are no rules when accessorizing yourself. Try to take risks, you can accumulate, mix and match, jewelry gives you the opportunity to try so many things and it can twist and add the final touch to a look really easily, so just go for it!
7. Do you have a jewelry icon? Someone you look up to for their good work?
My Jewelry icon is Ambaji Venkatesh Shinde. I have always his book with me. He designed exceptional jewels for the fabled Maharajas of India. India is always present as a source of inspiration for me because of its splendor and diversity. I love to adapt Maharadja’s jewelry into a contemporary vision playing with colours like Jet hematite, Crystal Silvernight or Emerald to add a classical touch to pieces inspired on the complex Indian jewelry. I really admire designers that have a strong identity and aesthetic and are not afraid to take risks. For example, Miucca Prada is one my favorite designer, she thinks about the women when she designs, and she always adds a touch of irony to her collections! Frida Kahlo is also one of my Icons, I love her art, her life, her style. I have pictures of her in my studio and I even travel to visit her house in Mexico!
8. What is your fashion style? What do you love to wear?
Me, I am too much, I love to be jeweled!!! You could wear a pair of jeans and a plain t-‐shirt, but as long as you have a couture necklace to wear it with you are fashionable. It is the detail that will make your look, it has more possibilities, and I think that it is this playful aspect that makes it so desirable. I think that jewelry is a really good communication tool, because it gives away clues on your personality. You can read on someone with the way they accessorize, it can be loud and over top or subtle and delicate, even the absence of jewelry can tell something.
9. What should every woman have in her handbag?
A lipstick + little mirror + brush + mini perfume = That’s all you need to make yourself look put-‐together in a second. I am completely in love with perfume miniatures; I love collect them, I think I have thousands of them at home; it’s kind of addictive!
10. Fashion blogs: good or bad?
I had myself one blog but I stopped it, I have tones of work and I prefer to invest myself fully in my new collections rather than feeding my blog. Also I am not so much a computer Internet things…I have to say that some fashion bloggers that are really talented and make a good job with rich posts but others, who knows, they think they are Anna Wintour…
Picture Credits: all images supplied by Shourouk
This SS15 collection talks about my bejeweled secret garden. The pastel colors of Jacques Demy films have rocked my childhood and so films like “Les demoiselles de Rochefort” or “Les Parapluies de Cherbourg” inspired me this season. I tried to capture the ladylike purest expression of Spring with my crystal flowers but falling into a surrealist chaos. Is all about the 60’s and the dazzling charm of the bourgeoisie with those technicoloured pastels. I reinvented the Acapulco bag embellished with flowers and butterflies that come also to decorate my first line of jellyfishes…a word where plastic is fantastic!
2. When you design, is it for a particular woman?
Any kind of woman could be wearing Shourouk’s. Those are versatile designs; a more classical woman could find herself attracted to the more joaillerie aspect of them, with the emerald, deep blue and crystal. Someone with a high-‐fashion look will go for strong bright colors, statement pieces. The range of Shourouk client is quite wide, as it shows on the celebrities wearing the brand; you can have Michelle Obama elegant, more classical as well as Anna Dello Russo who is completely eccentric.
3. Are there plans for a men's collection?
I would like to bling-‐bling guys one day, yesssss!!
4. Are you a fan of vintage accessories?
Personally, I love mix & match, that’s what makes your style so personal and you will find the key to be original. It is not to follow a precise trend or to buy a complete outfit from one big designer; it is more about reflecting your lifestyle and feeling like yourself. You just have to think outside the box and mix luxury, with vintage, or traditional or even cheap! For the vintage clothes it is not really about label, it is more about taste. You have to look hard to find the right piece, with the right color or print and that will match with your own style. I recently bought a pair of Balenciaga court shoe that I love because they could look totally vintage!
5. What jewelry do you wear each day? Do you have one piece you always wear?
My PVC Acapulco Bag!!! I customized it for me, I can’t stop wearing it, is fresh is new and it has the perfect size, big enough to have all what you need inside! In terms of jewels I can’t stop wearing my Tubular necklace black & white of the FW14 with the earrings that are on the same sequins colors…it has a magical touch, modern & fashionable! Also I have to say that, all the seasons I try to surprise with a special bag and for this collection baptized “Brigitte” I create my 1st line of rubber Pannier. It is my favorite piece of the SS15!!! I think is going to be the next piece I will never separate myself of!
6. What would your advice be to someone buying jewelry for the first time?
That jewels are made just for have fun! There are no rules when accessorizing yourself. Try to take risks, you can accumulate, mix and match, jewelry gives you the opportunity to try so many things and it can twist and add the final touch to a look really easily, so just go for it!
7. Do you have a jewelry icon? Someone you look up to for their good work?
My Jewelry icon is Ambaji Venkatesh Shinde. I have always his book with me. He designed exceptional jewels for the fabled Maharajas of India. India is always present as a source of inspiration for me because of its splendor and diversity. I love to adapt Maharadja’s jewelry into a contemporary vision playing with colours like Jet hematite, Crystal Silvernight or Emerald to add a classical touch to pieces inspired on the complex Indian jewelry. I really admire designers that have a strong identity and aesthetic and are not afraid to take risks. For example, Miucca Prada is one my favorite designer, she thinks about the women when she designs, and she always adds a touch of irony to her collections! Frida Kahlo is also one of my Icons, I love her art, her life, her style. I have pictures of her in my studio and I even travel to visit her house in Mexico!
8. What is your fashion style? What do you love to wear?
Me, I am too much, I love to be jeweled!!! You could wear a pair of jeans and a plain t-‐shirt, but as long as you have a couture necklace to wear it with you are fashionable. It is the detail that will make your look, it has more possibilities, and I think that it is this playful aspect that makes it so desirable. I think that jewelry is a really good communication tool, because it gives away clues on your personality. You can read on someone with the way they accessorize, it can be loud and over top or subtle and delicate, even the absence of jewelry can tell something.
9. What should every woman have in her handbag?
A lipstick + little mirror + brush + mini perfume = That’s all you need to make yourself look put-‐together in a second. I am completely in love with perfume miniatures; I love collect them, I think I have thousands of them at home; it’s kind of addictive!
10. Fashion blogs: good or bad?
I had myself one blog but I stopped it, I have tones of work and I prefer to invest myself fully in my new collections rather than feeding my blog. Also I am not so much a computer Internet things…I have to say that some fashion bloggers that are really talented and make a good job with rich posts but others, who knows, they think they are Anna Wintour…
Picture Credits: all images supplied by Shourouk
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