Melissa Dawson

Ornamento

With decades of experience designing and working with textiles, I am always fascinated to study and learn from other non-textile designers’ and artists’ interpretations of textile-based products and techniques. To what part of textiles are they drawn? In what details are they most interested? How do they translate and reinterpret traditional techniques? Such was the case upon first seeing Lella Vignelli’s design for “12 Monili d’Argento San Lorenzo,” a 2003 jewelry collection of twelve exquisite silver pieces designed by women for women. I was immediately drawn to her Seicento necklace, recognizing it as a modern take on an Elizabethan ruff. Historically, these elaborate collars were made from starched linen cambric and then later lace, and were worn primarily in Europe and Spanish America during the mid-16th to mid-17th centuries. In the most well-known image of the Seicento necklace, Lella wears the piece over simple black clothing, making a bold, dynamic statement that directs the viewer’s focus onto the necklace and upwards towards the face. There is a beautiful contrast between the sleek modern black and shiny, undulating elegance of the necklace. Elizabethan ruffs were made by hand and so is Lella’s modern interpretation: each necklace is meticulously handcrafted individually by historic Milanese silversmith San Lorenzo. And so, each ruffle of this design was added by a master gaffer during the hand blowing process.