Repossi Reimagines Photographer Robert Mapplethorpe's Jewelry in New Collection
The Italian jeweler emulates the renowned photographer's work through an exclusive high jewelry collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation.
Robert Mapplethorpe was known for his iconic black and white photography, but the artist also dabbled with other mediums, designing jewelry in his early career. Today, Italian luxury jewelry house Repossi unveils a new eight-piece collection in collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation inspired by the photographer’s handmade pieces.
“The Mapplethorpe Foundation invited me to create jewelry influenced by the jewelry pieces Robert Mapplethorpe made with beads and found objects early in his career,” Gaia Repossi, the brand’s creative director, said. “I was able to access his entire archive of jewelry and jewelry materials at the Getty Research Institute. This collection is a tribute to his genius aesthetic and the beautiful items he assembled.”
The Creative Director felt a connection with Mapplethorpe and his personal jewelry practice as they both began creating pieces in childhood, and then later for their close friends. Repossi also owns Mapplethorpe’s 1981 photograph “Puerto Rico,” which hangs in her studio. Wanting to honor the late artist with the utmost care, the collection took three years of research and development before coming to fruition.
Looking through the photographer’s archives at the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation and at the Getty Research Institute’s Mapplethorpe Archive, Repossi took inspiration from his photographs, collages, and jewelry. She incorporated elements of Mapplethorpe’s designs into her own, elevating them with the Repossi house’s technical know-how and top quality materials. For example, the Mechanic ring, formed to resemble a motor, has several working hinges that allow the ring to move, a feature that was inspired by a necklace made by Mapplethorpe.
The collection’s eight pieces align with one of six themes based on key elements of the designs, including Relic Claw, Triptych Heart, Americana Flag, Chain, Mechanic, and Jetty. Like Mapplethorpe’s creations, Repossi’s emulative collection is made by hand—following the tradition of its Place Vendôme excellence, craftsmen in France or Italy shape, set, assemble, and polish each piece.
Accompanying the jewelry is imagery of the collection that features the rings and necklaces superimposed on top of Mapplethorpe’s artwork.
Now available exclusively through Dover Street Market locations in New York, the collection will then be brought to DSM stores in Los Angeles in July, and its London shop in August. It will also be available at Repossi’s Paris flagship. Another seven pieces, considered a second act to the collection, will be unveiled next year.
