Dror for Marithé + François Girbaud

Can fur last forever?
 

For the second iteration of Construkt, Marithé+François Girbaud’s quarterly series of artist-designed objects, the French clothier asked us to create limited-edition pieces that related to its aesthetic. As I considered the brand, the most compelling aspect was how it addressed controversial subjects through each collection—its clothing made a statement in more ways than one.

I wanted to make my own statement that related to both product design and fashion. Jewelry presented a fitting liaison between the two worlds, as the typology often crosses over from one to the other. I decided to use fur as my politically charged component, and porcelain as a reference to product. The elements were in many ways in opposition to one another: one is natural and tactile; the other is harsh and solid.

The Urban Cast-Away series consists of one-of-a-kind art objects, necklaces, rings, earrings, and cuffs. To make each piece, we dipped second-hand fur into liquid porcelain and fired it in a kiln overnight. Each morning we arrived to the workshop to behold the fascinating results: the heat instantly obliterated the fur, leaving behind casts of magical, organic forms that gave the material a continued life. In the same way as the Vase of Phases, the Urban Cast-Away series uses a traditional material in a novel, subversive way.

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