A special display for HEAVEN, the jewelry brand by Indonesian-born designer Heaven Tanudiredja, is being held on the first floor of DOVER STREET MARKET GINZA from October 25th. Heaven Tanudiredja visited Japan for the event. We spoke to him about the image of his AW13-14 collection and his background, which forms the basis of his creations.
The theme for AW13-14 is "Beautiful Chaos." Heaven explains, "A friend of mine fell ill with depression, and as I researched the illness, I became interested in people with mental illnesses. I expanded my ideas by traveling through their minds."
Each of his new pieces has a name, such as "ANOREXIA NERVOSA" or "PYROMANIA." The words themselves conjure up images of extreme proportions, but in Heaven's hands, the kaleidoscope of delusions unfolding in the minds of the inhabitants of this world is transformed into "beautiful chaos." In this installation, the images are displayed in a spherical showcase, inspired by the mentally ill who withdraw into their shells. He graduated from Esmod in Jakarta, where he also worked as a tailor. After graduating, he went on to study at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. While there, he interned at Dior Haute Couture, then managed by John Galliano. After graduating, he worked at Dries Van Noten's atelier. "At Dior, I was exposed to the fantasy world depicted in fashion, and at Dries's atelier, I learned how to balance creation with business. It was Dries who encouraged me to take up jewelry design, when I was aiming to become a women's fashion designer," says Heaven. After going independent, she established an atelier in Antwerp and devoted herself to creating jewelry. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted and of such high quality that it can be considered a one-of-a-kind art piece. Her pieces are currently sold primarily at select boutiques like 10 Corso Como and Barneys New York. Her jewelry also caught the eye of Pierre Bergé, a lifelong partner of Saint Laurent. After his death, the pair sold their art collection at Christie's, achieving the highest price ever paid for a private collection at auction. Two of her pieces were auctioned and sold at Bergé's contemporary jewelry auction. In 2013, she also sold six pieces to "honest by," a fashion website founded by Antwerp designer Bruno Pieters that addresses environmental issues and aims for a more sustainable world.
"Pursuing creativity, being mindful of environmental issues, and running a successful business. I'm always aware of the difficulty of achieving all of these goals while also creating a viable product, but I think it's a challenge that needs to be tackled especially now, when business takes priority," says Heaven.
His jewelry will open up a new era for jewelry, traversing the boundaries between art and product. The display will be on until November 21st.
