Othoniel’s Metal

Fashion x Art Edit #8

As Winter is around the corner and puffer jackets are about to get out our closets, I recently stumbled upon an oversized, bulbous and shiny coat that reminded me of Jean-Michel Othoniel’s sculptures like Lotus Miroir from 2018.

Jean-Michel Othoniel is a French multidisciplinary artist represented notably by Galerie Perrotin, that I discovered a few years back at the Grand Palais in Paris. He is famous for his glass sculptures he started creating in 1993 collaborating with artisan glassblowers from Milano. His work included both private and public commissions often taking architectural dimensions according to his website. He is driven by a will to romanticize and enchant the world, qualities he found in the delicacy and versatility of glass, before experimenting with reflexive steel of which Lotus Mirror is made

He is interested in the repetition of geometric forms creating unregular shapes, from bricks creating waves to beads representing flowers and looking like an intertwined floating necklace taking various sizes. His work, like the looks inspired from it below, experiments with intimacy and monumentality, classic references and contemporary nods, reconciling opposites, highs and lows, precious and common.

Additionally, because of the reflexive nature of the glass and stainless steel he uses, his installations are an invitation to self-reflection and to an exploration of our relationship to our environment. His artworks shine and make the viewer’s reflection shine, quite like an ingeniously curated outfit.