Arianna Bottero, French Fries digital, connecting craft, hedonism and fantasy
With an over thirteen years career in the jewelry world, thought - provoking Arianna Bottero stands out with her dry wit and biting critique of social structures. Bottero seeks a connection with the audience often using language and written word.
You worked with high jewellery for 13 years at Damiani, how was that experience?
I was working right in the official operational headquarters in Valenza, where all the great companies like Damiani, Bulgari have their offices. As a designer, following product development is essential, you have to be there and monitor every step. In that context certainly the most beautiful possibility then was that of somehow traveling the world and getting to know realities very distant from ours.
And how did you start your brand?
Four years ago me and my boyfriend, we said let's give ourselves a chance. So we founded our company, we launched our brand called NESS1. The timing wasn't the best because the pandemic was just starting, the world was changing. There is never the right moment to do something, there’s simply the moment in which you do it. In a very Darwinian way, what doesn't kill, makes your stronger.
Where are you based now?
Because of our work, I moved to Genova, so I'm by the sea and that too was certainly a particular change for me. I’ve always wanted to live by the sea. Genova has all its international dynamics a little hidden compared to Milan. Even the very structure of the city, the small streets, especially from the port that lead to the center. It’s a very international city as well, it's always nice to go out and hear different languages. It's a port in every sense, everyone is welcome.
Did you study or did you work as a jeweler's assistant? How did you start?
In high school, I was already totally obsessed with jewellery. We had to work on this project related to the noble coats of arms, and I remember that I was really fascinated by designing metal, I was able to do it easily. I really liked drawing, I liked the accessories. By then my passion for jewellery was born. When I finished high school I moved to Valenza, where obviously I attended courses to be able to strenthen the whole theoretical and technical part linked to materials, the study of diamonds, gold etc. I was lucky enough to immediately put that into practice, doing internships in goldsmith laboratories. When we create, it's a team effort where there are many people, it's a bit like a symphony orchestra. Same harmony when playing together, this is crucial.
Tell us about the Medicine Drug Collection, what was the idea behind?
My desire is certainly very ambitious because my goal is to change the way in which jewelry is not only worn, but perceived. Tradition is needed and it must be maintained, but then it must evolve. So in this evolution the jewel can be worn or exhibited and collected. All the pieces are numbered, so in some way they speak a new language and approach and above all I want to talk to an audience that is not necessarily women. I am not into boundaries. My proposal is far from the classic jewelry, I am not part of the generation where you only get a jewel because you got married or because you had your first child. We actually invite our clients to a more introspective and intellectual reflection, which is what I provoke with my five collections dedicated to the addictions that afflict our contemporaneity. We talk about time, money, drugs, sex, love. But I have deliberately chosen challenging topics because my goal is to demonstrate that there is always a positive point of view. Obviously it is a question of perspectives, of points of view, of having somehow different eyes. And I do this with a filter that is nonetheless a bit irreverent, provocative and even ironic.
NESS1 will be exhibiting at HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION
17 - 20 February 2023
A dedication to sustainability, craftsmanship, design and manufacturing with the ultimate accuracy. HOMI FASHION&JEWELS EXHIBITION explores a cultural challenge, is sustainability an utopian fantasy or a possibility?