Who's that girl? Gaia Repossi

Gaia Repossi, 27, is the creative director of the Italian jewellery brand Repossi . She took the helm at the family business at the tender age of 20, although following in her father's footsteps was never a foregone conclusion. "I was looking for something other than what my father was doing," Repossi says of her teenage rebellion. "I was rejecting a certain conservative aspect of the jewellery world; I didn't find it creative enough for my very curious eye."

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Repossi grew up in millionaire's playground Monte Carlo, but being surrounded by jewels the size of boulders only encouraged her to reject the family jewellery house, established in 1925 by her grandfather. "It was a very small place to grow up in, and my love for arts and literature became stale - I had a thirst for knowledge," she says. She ran away to study painting, anthropology and archaeology at the Sorbonne in Paris and only admitted defeat when she was asked to take on marketing for her father.

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She became creative director in 2007 and immediately set about modernising what had become a slightly stuffy brand. "What was the most repulsive was the association of wealth, and value, to something that for me was before anything creative. My main idea was to challenge the designs, to pursue renewal like you find in the art world."

This new mood manifested itself in a delicate knuckleduster made in collaboration with Alexander Wang for autumn/winter 2010 that gained cult status - shoe designer Tabitha Simmons admitted she "never takes [it] off" - and a collection with Joseph Altuzarra. It's not all 'in with the new', though; the jewellery is still made in the original ateliers in Italy and France by a team of 50.

We caught up with the Paris-based, Italian-born designer and discussed her inspirations.

Your designs are influenced by 'ethnic silhouettes and tribal accents'; why are these interesting to you?
There was certainly a visual shock studying ethnic and tribal civilisations from the past. And some designs were very modern, almost contemporary sculpture. In Africa, for instance, there was a beauty, an elegance, that us western women had lost, to the point that we were happier with bare skin to feel like a modern, smart woman. And this was considered in my studies [her masters in anthropology] as part of the universal patrimony. It made me realise we were lacking this. The role of a jewellery designer is not only to sell, it's to bring new proposals to our time.

Which cultures have inspired you recently?
Africa is always the greatest lesson for modernity, and in terms of feminine ornament, Indian tribes of the desert are the most elegant women in the world. But also my love of art and sculpture is obsessing me to a very high level lately, through a Bauhaus building or a [Alexander] Calder sculpture. I see ideas everywhere.

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You also reference Art Nouveau and Art Deco iconography.
Yes, they were the first response to modernity instead of the ancient love of the renaissance for Greece and Rome. Africa and Japan were digested by all these great minds for a modern usage. Art Nouveau is for me the modern response to Japan and their patterns, and Art Deco is the primary feeling of Africa. Le Corbusier and his relationship to space and volume - the Villa Savoye, the Ronchamp church - Calder, the prefab houses of Jean Prouvé, and the flower opulence of Klimt are for me a dream. Lately the architecture of Tadao Ando is obsessing me (the Church of the Light), and Frank Gehry, and the furniture of Franz West.

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Do you still paint?
Painting is an instinct I will never give up, my hands drive the canvas as if they were meant to do it and it's a sort of trance. It's strangely the opposite of what I do around my jewellery where I try to reach for perfection. I approach jewellery more as a sculpture, whereas my paintings are instinctive and messy. They follow my gut.

How would you describe the collection for autumn/winter 2013?
It's minimal and very pure. We will probably collaborate with some designers this season, but it's confidential. My biggest goal is to work essentially on my own work, although collaborations enrich the House enormously.

Do you wear fine jewellery on a daily basis?
Sometimes. Lately I'm wearing my new Ophydienne ring (the new snake collection) set with diamonds cut on custom according to the scales in rose gold in a single or triple version. I'm very proud of my Berbère ring, but I also wear a pendant my mother gave me. And my grandmother (the wife of my grandfather the jeweller) left some stunning yet simple Art Deco items.

What is the most exquisite piece of jewellery in the world?
A simple feather from a bird.

Via: Who's that girl? Gaia Repossi