DSO:  We’re thrilled to introduce Completedworks to Mode Sportif. Your pieces have been worn by many brilliant women from many different disciplines. Who do you design for?

AG: We’re so delighted too, thank you! I think in terms of design I’m thinking of someone who wants to express something through their choice of jewellery. Someone who wants to build a collection that is authentic and personal to them and reflects the journey they have taken. I love that the wearer inevitably has a relationship with a piece – how it represents something for them, even if only just to say they made a choice to put that piece on today. No one needs to really wear jewellery in the same way that you do clothes.

 

DSO: You studied Mathematics & Philosophy at Oxford; how does this background translate into your creative work?

AG:I think to me both of those disciplines are about finding new ways to describe the world and I think you can take a similar approach to jewellery design. Somehow it allows me to bring an insistent, inquisitive reasoning to the creative process. Nothing is there that isn’t necessary even if just visually.

 

DSO: As an Artistic Director, you draw inspiration from high quality materials and purist elements, tell us a bit more about your creative process behind the collection.

AG: I’m never not thinking about design. I designed what I convinced myself was a really perfect collection in my sleep a few weeks ago but I couldn’t remember any of the pieces when I woke up! The design process usually starts with a single idea or concept that I want to explore. For example, the creative starting point for our collection Fold was a study into the use of folds and drapery in art but looking less at the fold itself and more at the act of folding, both as a concept and formal process. I seem to find inspiration everywhere, from the art-world to the mundane everyday. I think as with many fashion and jewellery brands, we see ourselves in dialogue with fine art, especially sculpture. Frieze art fair taking place in Regent’s Park, near our studio, is a great example of how being based in London allows you to participate in a process of borrowing and exchange: with nature (the park), with architecture (the Nash terraces) and with fine art (Frieze art fair) all during a lunch break. 

DSO: How do you see jewellery being part of your personal style? Are you a minimalist or maximalist when it comes to styling your pieces?

AG: I think jewellery can be a really effective way of adding an interesting element to more simple, pared back outfits. I like to layer and to mismatch in slightly unexpected ways.

 

 

 

[collection]completed-works[/collection]