:: SHOWstudio - Shelf Appeal ::

Like the live beetles the Surrealists are said to have pinned to their lapels, this cuff from Tom Ford's penultimate YSL collection is positively crawling with garish colour and historical resonance. In a Spring/Summer season of all things Depression-era, the Texan designer also made reference to the 1930s. It was perhaps most explicit in his accessories line, however, that this was no mawkish homage to the desperation of the dust bowl, but a more characteristic nod to the Hollywood studio system of the period. Bias-cut gowns of liquid silk and sequinned chiffon were accompanied by these lavish paste and diamanté 'corsages', recalling the boom in costume jewellery of the decade, at which point the desire for the glamour of conspicuous consumption was met with ubiquitous, mass-produced glass 'gems' in non-precious metal settings.

Paradoxically, it is the two key elements of the YSL cuff that suggest inexpensive construction that also disclose the piece's highly prestigious aesthetic provenance, which extends back to two of the finest jewellery designers of the twentieth century. The two 'rubies' at the bracelet's top and centre - no more than hastily painted rhinestones- and the rather patchy enamelling on the leaves respectively evoke the Bohemian crystals used by virtuoso jeweller Miriam Haskell in the 30s and the enamelling techniques implemented by visionary fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1950s and 60s.

Ford is no slave to the prescriptive force of history, though, and rather than aping the work of past-masters, the cuff tells a very modern, perspicuous tale about art, artifice and the state of the contemporary fashion industry. Not really a sensuous thing to be stroked, treasured, or even inherited, the floral, jewelled bracelet is a striking visual statement to be viewed from a distance or in a photograph: garment as image, not object.

Text by Penny Martin

Shelf Appeal archive
15.12.04: Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf
20.10.04: Blouse Bag by Ann-Sofie Back
30.09.04: Contact Lenses by Christian Dior
07.09.04: BMX by Y-3
25.08.04: Helmet by Stephen Jones for GIBO by Julie Verhoeven
05.08.04: Suitcase by Bottega Veneta
21.07.04: Sequinned Knickers by Alexander McQueen
08.07.04: Tennis Court Pump by Chanel
18.06.04: Parasol by Eley Kishimoto
14.05.04: Toolkit by Prada
07.05.04: Feather Headband by Miu Miu
26.04.04: Measuring Tape Belt by Tatty Devine
08.04.04: Easter Bunny Biscuits by Fortnum & Mason
31.03.04: Teapot by Vivienne Westwood for Coalport
24.03.04: Hair Brush by BLESS
12.03.04: Canderel Dispenser by Lagerfeld Gallery
04.03.04: Volleyball by Y-3
26.02.04: Bracelet by YSL
16.02.04: Lace Mask by Lanvin
04.02.04: Necklace by Marni
26.01.04: Straw Hat by Yohji Yamamoto
16.01.04: Edo Bells by Martin Margiela
19.12.03: Shimmering Stilettos by Viktor & Rolf

With thanks to Jane Audas