In Conversation With Patcharavipa

Fashion : Meet

02 March 2020

"Like what Le Corbusier said, 'A house is machine for living in.'"

Stepping into Patcharavipa Bodiratnangkura's home, there are no literal signs of any machinery at work, but for the jewellery designer, this is her creative sanctuary. As well as her workshop in her ancestral-home of Thailand, her home in West London is the starting point for a year-long process of jewellery making. Patcharavipa goes East two to three times a year - "‘If it’s only once a year my mom will would kill me!" - to overlook the production process, as well as some well deserved time with the family.

As the hub for Patcharavipa's ingenuity, her home decor definitely reflects that. Art takes precedence in her home: a large Randy Perez painting dominates the living room, which perfectly compliments the centrepiece red chair, designed by Olivier Mourgue - a collector's piece from the 2001: A Space Odyssey film set. "What you see here, inspires the little things that I design," says Patcharavipa, as we sit drinking tea in her home. "My grandfather on my mother's side is an architect. That side also makes textiles, which is why I appreciate fabrics, fashion, and design in general."

As well as a jewellery designer, Patcharavipa creates objects, which can be anything from a hair clip to a bowl made from a coconut shell. The foray into unique materials started with her graduate collection at Central Saint Martins, which was an instant hit. "The first person who came in to buy was this British lady, all the students were sitting and waiting, then she pointed to one of my pieces and said 'I want to buy this one!'" states Patcharavipa. "It was a black Swarovski crystal within a coconut shell." This innovative approach to using unconventional materials has also influenced her way of playing with conventional materials. Her latest collection, Clues, mainly consists of 18K Siam Gold moulded to create the chain shape. What's immediately noticeable, is the worn texture of the material, as if each dent in the material shows a part of it's journey. The strong, rigid nature to her jewellery - that shows a conscious decision to not be a part of the dainty and delicate stereotype that fine jewellery usually falls into - means that her experimentation into men's jewellery seemed a natural next step. When asked why she decided to take this jump, her transparent response - "Because I have men in my life." - shows the designer's charming quality to notice jewellery's necessity in everyone's world.

Patcharavipa ends our visit by showing the sketches she draws when designing her jewellery. The sketches of her collection in front of us are tucked away in her workshop in Thailand, but without hesitation, she pulls out a sketchpad and some paints to quickly draw and after five minutes, a personalised postcard of the Clues 'Edge Earrings' appears. This intimate gesture, within the setting of Patcharavipa's home, shows how vital it is for her creativity, that her designs are created in a place that she's emotionally connected to, and looking to the jewellery she designs here, we hope that this machine will keep on running for some time.