Some looks from my FW15/16 INAISCE collection featuring collaborations with:
RIGARDS - http://rigards.com
HEATHER GABRIEL - http://www.heathergabrielceramics.com
TAIANA - http://www.taianadesign.com,
FROM THE ROAD - http://www.fromtheroad.com,
…and two new projects: /A (adornment), and IA PARTICLES (classics line)
The firstINAISCE collection from Jona Sees in 1.5 years, FW15/16 was bred out of Jona’ssimple desire to create beautiful garments within a specific lifestyle. The environment in which Jona creates offers a glimpse into this lifestyle: The space is a renovated church building in New York where Jona has cultivated an atmosphere juxtaposing both the intense and serene where the spiritual realm is as real as the physical. Here comfort and beauty are one and fleeting styles give way to a reverence for natural and timeless beauty.
The fabrications of the collection include Jona’s signature textures - double layered wool, distressed Mongolian shearling, reverse horse leather, a loosely woven and boiled wool that resembles ashes, Icelandic fish skin - these severe materials are harmonized with refined luxury: a perfectly balanced silk/wool blend, skip-stitch cashmere knit, liquid cupro, and earthy organic cottons in several weights and finishes.
The silhouettes evoke a nuanced familiarity and longing for a home from a past life, yet strike an unknown chord with subtle infusions of elements from untouched cultures and distant territories. Other lines and secondary silhouettes draw from the elegant, flowing shapes of birds of prey and the Arisaema genus of flowering plants.
The collection’s detailing has been meticulously polished to be simultaneously elegant and utilitarian. Seam lines flow smoothly into pockets then morph down to front vents; a petal-like hood detaches to bring the coat into a more refined dimension; a seemingly complicated striated cuff detail functions effortlessly. And no expense was spared with the trim: hand drawn and woven silk, solid silver hardware, washed silk linings.
During his year-and-a-half hiatus, Jona explored new mediums of art, visited great architectural achievements, and travelled to work with artisans to introduce new elements into his work:
I. Collaborating with Hong Kong based eyewear artisan Ti Kwa of RIGARDS, Jona developed a frame that pays homage both to the architectural lines of Carlo Scarpa and the original Inuit sunglasses.
II. Visiting rural Japan he worked with sericulturists to develop hand drawn and woven silks.
III. Continuing his work with Taiana, a natural element is injected into the fabrications with moss-like hand-felted merino wool
IV. Collaborating with ceramicist Heather Gabriel, he developed a series of earthenware bowls that are minimal in form but contrasted with natural colorations of the white earth and Native American firing technique. It is incorporated into the collection with large pendants and arm cuffs.
V. In collaboration with “From the Road” hand-spun cashmere is woven in a small Nepalese village to create a large throw styled as a skirt.
Jona has introduced structural jewelry into the collection working with his muse, Dinara Chetyrova, to execute other worldly design objects:
I. A large silver pendant evinces a futuristic shape but is inspired by the Yonaguni monument – a mysterious ancient man-made underwater structure. 70 black diamonds run down the top edge of the blade-like piece, and ceramic disks further the ancient/future juxtaposition.
II. An antique seal is updated as a working mechanical prayer lock with Mayan detailing and integrated into the collection with hand-braided raw silk.
III. When standing alone, an architectural neck piece resembles the ominous Buzludzha monument but is delicate and sophisticated on the neck.
IV. An eclipse-like spherical pendant of silver and obsidian holds close to the body with a cord that descends from the neck, through the pendant and continues around the torso.
