Vicky Lew

Vicky Lew London, London

Thalurania Colombica Brooch

Although it’s often hard for designers to select a favorite among their pieces, Vicky Lew has no problem declaring her Thalurania Colombica brooch as her favorite piece from her debut collection, Flight, believing that it—in its non-solid form—interprets her theme of transience perfectly. Flight was inspired by a photo she took of a bird in the park. It was spreading its wings before it flew away. “It’s such a lovely transient moment, and I like to preserve such moments in pieces of jewelry.” She chose the colorful hummingbird as her final motif because it is an elusive bird, adhering to her theme of fleeting moments. The brooch design juxtaposes organic, nature-inspired shapes with the futuristic, cool, and modern palladium. In her designs, she aims “to capture the drama and majesty of this transient moment.” Specifically, she focused on takeoff, alluding to the instantaneous moment with the use of perspective-localized angles. This technique allows the bird to be seen only from certain angles and suggests that it moves along with the wearer. Lew lists Felice Varini’s perspective-localized paintings and Zebrating’s street-railings graffiti artworks as primary sources of inspiration. Her brooch reflects the linear lines of bird feathers, as well as the street railings of her idea source. Lew intends to inspire curiosity, inviting the audience to look not only at the jewelry, but also at the hidden bird.