Swarovski collaborates with designers for two new collections

Swarovski has teamed up with two designers to create contemporary collections featuring the company’s signature crystal figurines. 

British artist Arran Gregory and Japanese digital artist Yoshii Hiroshi will be interpreting the classic Swarovski ornaments with their own artistic flair.

Arran Gregory looks at the connection mankind has with animals, wildlife and the natural world in his ‘Mirror Nature’ collection. His designs will explore the “mysterious strength of wild animals” and feature three of his signature sculptures; a wolf, bear and leopard.

The three figurines focus more on the clean lines of the animals rather than paying attention to detail, allowing viewers to fill in the gaps.

The Mirror Nature collection has been developed with a chrome coating, which will bring the idea of the mirror effect to life when incorporated with the crystals.

Speaking of the collection, Gregory said: “Working with Swarovski was inspiring. They put their trust in me as an artist, nurturing my practice without compromising my ideas. Crystal is such a fascinating material, I think because of the way it reacts with light – it draws you in.”

Yoshii Hiroshi’s collection focuses on one of his mascots, Hoot the Owl. The ‘Hoot the Owl’ series incorporates a range of positive emotions fronted by the crystal owl. ‘Hoot – I’m In Love’, ‘Hoot – I’m So Lucky’ and ‘Hoot – Let’s Celebrate’ all feature the owls holding coloured crystals representative of the emotions they portray.

Hoot holds three light sIam coloured hearts for the love figurine, fuschia coloured balloons for the celebratory one and a fern green four leaf clover for the one signifying luck.

Hiroshi said: “My three-dimensional characters are created through a harmonious combination of beauty, ludicrousness, and humor, so when I learned that Swarovski has a character series, I thought it would be great if I could make something like it.

“I usually design using opaque surfaces, so crystal was a challenge at first, but I eventually got used to it and I enjoyed it.”