Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/96336
JewelryCullturedMiamiDec_Layout 1 11/21/12 1:26 PM Page 60 MichelCo The Surreal Deal Delfina Delettrez Fendi bridges the fashion-and-art divide while adding a little extra sparkle to Design Miami/. BY BEE-SHYUAN CHANG PORTRAIT BY DANKO STEINER A last name like Fendi comes with high fashion expectations, but Delfina Delettrez, a fourth-generation member of the luxurygoods brand, has met them all and then some. Since October 2007, when she launched her eponymous collection at Colette in Paris, the petite brunette has shaken up the jewelry world with her stunning bejeweled baubles, including sparkling creepy crawlers, glimmering skeleton hands and surreal curiosities. With the quality craftsmanship to match, her line is now carried at such influential fashion retailers as Opening Ceremony and Luisa Via Roma. More recently, her work has charmed the art and design worlds with its nods to Salvador Dalí and René Magritte. "Delfina is young, but she already has an amazing production," says Antonella Villanova, who has her own gallery in Florence, which is showing nine unique pieces by Delettrez during Design Miami/. "We had a wonderful solo exhibition, 'Delphinarium,' in my gallery last June, which showcased her prior collections." An artistic career isn't far of a stretch for Delettrez; it was on her mind from the start. "I didn't consider jewelry originally, as I considered it too traditional, with roots too deep," she says. But she eventually found her own approach, one that allowed her to play by her own rules. "I have always loved to draw surreal absurdities since I was a child and have always been fascinated by surrealism," she explains, referencing Dalí's melting clocks and Magritte's hidden faces, which lets her "imagination fly with a game of fill-in-the-blank." Her creativity is especially sharp when it comes to presentations; for instance, her creations have adorned exotic taxidermy at the famed Deyrolle on Paris' Left Bank. In the case of Design Miami/,she is staging the special collection on nine mirrored columns mounted with magnifying glasses—a fanciful "scientific lab or an entomologist's studio," she describes. 60 CULTURED More recently, her work has charmed the art and design worlds with its nods to Salvador Dalí and René Magritte. Delfina Delettrez Fendi IMAGES COURTESY OF DELFINA DELETTREZ Stonehand bracelet