LONDON — Edgardo Osorio of Aquazzura lives a colorful life that involves many a stylish woman and trips around the world — including a yearly trip to Turkey with a close-knit group of friends, among whom is up-and-coming Turkish jeweler Begum Khan.
“There’s always an impromptu Begum shoot on our trips and this time we thought that we really should work on something together. We started playing with the idea on holiday and went to Istanbul, explored the bazaar and looking at all these patterns and ideas and symbols, so everything just happened,” said Osorio.
He has just debuted the results of the idea sparked in Turkey — his first jewelry collection, which has been designed in collaboration with Khan.
The line is as exuberant as the designer’s signature shoes, with the pineapple motif that appears on the soles of his stilettos translated onto statement earrings, brooches and necklaces done in 24K gold, crystals, root rubies, root emeralds, quartz and citrines. Heart- and beetle-shaped earrings, a symbol of good luck, also feature in the collection which is exclusive to Aquazzura boutiques.
“When somebody comes into our shop, they want to be surprised and they want to discover things and they want to find things they can’t find anywhere else. It was an opportunity to start creating things and expanding the line beyond shoes with people who are experts and doing things beautifully,” added the designer, who sees physical retail as crucial to his business and is working on opening a store in Capri next year.
Behum Khan x Aquazzura.
Courtesy Photo
“The idea behind the brand started in Capri. Aquazzura is about the modern dolce vita and this idea of the summer in Italy so for me having that location is very close to my heart,” the designer said.
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Collaborations have always been key to Aquazzura’s working philosophy and Osorio usually picks collaborators from his stylish pool of creative friends, from ready-to-wear designer Racil Chalhoub to jewelers Noor Fares, Eugenie Niarchos and Sabine Getty — who translated their jewels into shoes with Osorio.
“If you genuinely like somebody and their work and you have a relationship with them, you approach designing something together very different. You know the person, you know their soul, you know what they like, so it comes natural. If I like somebody and their taste, it just happens. Even with [interiors company] De Gournay, they saw their wallpaper in a picture of my house in a magazine, they called me and we simply started working together,” said the designer, adding that having now tested many different categories he is planning to expand the brand beyond shoes in a more permanent way.