Page 15 - VE Magazine - Issue 26

fashion
SPACE ODDITIES
EXPLORE OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD 20TH CENTURY JEWELLERY FROM A DIVERSE RANGE OF DESIGNERS INSPIRED BY A MODERNIST VISION
JEWELLERY DESIGN experienced a revolu- tion in the 1920s and 30s, reflecting the age of machine technology and the new Bauhaus in- spired Modernist movement. Postwar, a pleth- ora of styles of costume jewellery brightened the austere 1940s but, in the 1950s, the world immersed itself in all things Atomic.
The first atomic bomb, named Trinity, had been detonated in the New Mexico desert in 1945, prior to its use on Japan. And though
Soviet atomic tests from 1949 ushered in the anxious 40-year Cold War, designers seemed more inspired by the zippy graphics of whiz- zing sub-atomic particles than daunted by the bigger picture. A surreal and bizarre period of optimism quickly infused an entire culture with promises of the wonders of a nuclear fu- ture! This collective obsession with the alluring atom found its way into virtually every aspect of popular culture; architecture, industrial de-
Atomic fusion
sign, advertising, fine arts, film, furniture and of course fashion.
As the nuclear race transitioned into the Space Race, jewellery designers such as Merry Renk, Margaret de Patta, Ed Weiner, Betty Cooke and Henning Koppel produced gems with a distinctly atomic bent, while even the heady heights of Cartier couldn’t resist the gravitational pull of Sputnik.
Ground Control to Major Tom...ve
From 1939 to 1941, American Merry Renk studied painting at the
Trenton New Jersey School of Industrial Design – but she soon realised she
had an eye for contemporary jewellery and started making her own. Her unique sculptural pieces reminiscent of branches, roots, vines, or shells quickly became sought-
after and by mid-1950s she was exhibiting nationally. Her 1954 ‘Atoms’ necklace with 16 links separated by small circular links decorated with red enamel perfectly captures the age. Yet ironically it was Renk’s customers who first identified the design as atomic – she had been inspired by the chains worn in portraits of King Henry VIII!
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