Kiss, Kiss: Nouvel Heritage Has New Earrings To Love

Anyone engaged in work that can broadly fall under the umbrella of decorative arts usually has a deep affinity (and sometimes even a background in) fine arts. The influence of visual art, architecture, and even couture fashion on jewelry design is covered frequently on this blog: Mociun’s hat tip to James Turrell and Catbird’s capsule for the Met are just some recent examples, but there are many more.

The new earrings collection from the jewelry line Nouvel Heritage are inspired by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss. Certainly founder Camille Parruitte is not the first jewelry designer to be taken with the famous painting’s resplendent gold leaf and panoply of geometric forms (here is Sylvie Corbelin’s Nocturne ring, covered by Emili Vesilind last year, and you can see strong Klimtian references in the work of Alex Šepkus, Tap by Todd Pownell, and Arman Sarkisyan, among others).

And Parruitte’s take effectively strips the opulence and gravitas of the painting away to recast its most distinctive elements as interchangeable ear jackets that flutter and flicker on the ear.

Called Talia and Tessa, the jewels display gem-set or metal bars trimmed with fringy chains dangling tiny triangles and circles, some colored in lacquer, most set with diamonds or sapphires. (As such, one might detect a touch of Alexander Calder in these kinetic creations).

“The collection is very colorful and playful,” says Parruitte. “The beauty of having earring jackets is that you can create unique combinations, and the wearer can really express their creativity in how they want to style their earrings.”

The Talia and Tessa jackets are anchored by Tara studs that can be purchased separately, offering built-in versatility which is a highly desirable feature when so much of our life is playing out in more casual settings. You know, like the grocery store. As good a place as any for stealing—or wearing—a kiss.