Leather was everywhere on the Fall runways—witness, to name a few trends, leather leggings, elbow-length leather gloves, over-the-knee leather boots, leather motorcycle jackets. That’s a lot of leather! But Maiden Art is dishing out the skins in smaller doses. The Italian brand’s latest jewelry collection has a leather leitmotif: The material shows up laser-cut and pleated on reversible collars, folded origami-style on gift-bow brooches and rings, and sculpted into small and large pendant roses. And that’s just for starters. Maiden Art designers Maristella Colombo and Gabriele Negri have worked plenty of leather into their apparel this season as well—notably, the jersey leggings with glossy leather ankle bows seem like a must-have. But the fixation on hides isn’t keeping Colombo and Negri from hunting larger game, as it were. Negri doubles as a musician and sound designer, Colombo as a photographer and video artist, and their plans for Maiden Art’s future include a concept store in Milan (a pop-up is planned for later this year), an experimental record label, a magazine, and perhaps a line of interior design products. “When we founded Maiden Art in 2006, we knew we wanted to bring all our experiences to it,” explains Colombo. “We wanted to create a brand that was not only about clothes, and fashion, but open to other artistic areas, too.” Not that the designers are letting ambition blind them to more fundamental things. “We used so much leather because we like its soft touch,” Colombo says. “And it’s interesting to mix with silver.”
Maiden Art’s Soft Touch
Leather was everywhere on the Fall runways—witness, to name a few trends, leather leggings, elbow-length leather gloves, over-the-knee leather boots, leather motorcycle jackets. That’s a lot of leather! But Maiden Art is dishing out the skins in smaller doses. The Italian brand’s latest jewelry collection has a leather leitmotif: The material shows up laser-cut and pleated on reversible collars, folded origami-style on gift-bow brooches and rings, and sculpted into small and large pendant roses. And that’s just for starters. Maiden Art designers Maristella Colombo and Gabriele Negri have worked plenty of leather into their apparel this season as well—notably, the jersey leggings with glossy leather ankle bows seem like a must-have. But the fixation on hides isn’t keeping Colombo and Negri from hunting larger game, as it were. Negri doubles as a musician and sound designer, Colombo as a photographer and video artist, and their plans for Maiden Art’s future include a concept store in Milan (a pop-up is planned for later this year), an experimental record label, a magazine, and perhaps a line of interior design products. “When we founded Maiden Art in 2006, we knew we wanted to bring all our experiences to it,” explains Colombo. “We wanted to create a brand that was not only about clothes, and fashion, but open to other artistic areas, too.” Not that the designers are letting ambition blind them to more fundamental things. “We used so much leather because we like its soft touch,” Colombo says. “And it’s interesting to mix with silver.”