Posted by Bethan Holt, Junior Fashion Editor at Large
How to introduce you to
Sarah Angold? Perhaps we could begin with "Jewellery Designer" but that doesn't even begin to cover it. Maybe add entrepreneur, lecturer, innovator, inventor, visionary and collaborator to the list and you begin to get some idea of what Angold is about. She's a one-off kind of girl who will be advising arts students on business plans one day then designing sets on Made in Chelsea the next. I'm pretty sure there is no "average day" in her life.
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| Sarah Angold wearing one of her Topshop designs |
I've met Sarah a few times now; first at a trade show during Paris Fashion Week then later on a visit to her studio where it became apparent that there was way more to her brand than the completely fabulous laser cut acrylic sculptural jewellery which I had seen her exhibiting. She raced through references to projects she had worked on encompassing everything from vehicle interiors to high fashion. More recently she has designed a £3,500 "sculptural masterpeice/ dildo" and been to New York where she has lately acquired a swathe of new stockists. If it wasn't so fascinating hearing her stories then it would be completely exhausting.
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| Up close on the Cateo necklace |
A couple of weeks ago I met up with Sarah again. I'm very happy to report that she is collaborating with Topshop, bringing her unique aesthetic to a more affordable price bracket. Usually a pair of Sarah Angold earrings would set you back about £300 with a necklace reaching up to £1,000. Definitely worth saving up for but the new Topshop range has a buy now appeal; prices are between £30 and £60. Hurrah. The very best bit is that everything is still made in the very same way, by Sarah and her team by hand in their studio. Each piece even has its own identity number.
"The whole thing is a happy disaster story" Angold explains when I ask how exactly you get from designing bespoke light installations to working with the retail behemoth that is Topshop. She goes on to tell the story of a desperate afternoon in Paris, just before she was due to show her new collection. Having been let down by a supplier, she arrived with no chains and just one afternoon to source some before she had to meet buyers and press from around the world. After many frantic phone calls, she found herself in the French capital's jewellery supply district. Overwhelmed by the choice, Sarah stopped some strangers who "looked like they knew what they were doing" and asked for advice. Fast forward to the following morning, problem solved and settled at her stand, who should approach Sarah but the very people who had helped her the previous day. "They were from Freedom and had come to talk to me about doing a collaboration but had no idea who I was the day before". And so Sarah Angold x Freedom for Topshop was born.
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| Up close on the Ligan necklace |
Sarah calls the collection "a collision of sci-fi and art deco" which came from a combination of "me sitting in the cinema watching Transformer movies, the weird girl in a corner with a sketch book but also admiring the ornate and beautiful art deco qualities of The Chrysler building". The shapes and scales are all reminiscent of Angold's main collection. "One thing which unites all our customers is nothing really to do with age or profession but they're all strong, confident women who want jewellery which will amplify their personality and be cutting edge" she tells me. I love that whether you're buying an £850 Kingla necklace or a £60 Topshop Ligan necklace, you'll still be getting those vibes. "It had to be our style" insists Angold.
You're bound to be seeing more of Sarah's work. There's a collaboration with ASOS in the pipeline as well as a project with a handbag designer. On a grander scale, she is foraying into the much hyped arena of 3D printing. "I find that everyone gets excited for new technologies but whether they actually go out and use them is a whole different thing. If I decide to try something then I want to break boundaries with it" Sarah declares in typically ambitious style. Right now, details are sketchy but it looks like there will be a hook-up with a specialist 3D scanning product designer and interactive work at somewhere like the V&A or the Design Museum. Whatever it ends up being, it's bound to be worth a visit.
Sarah Angold x Topshop is
available now online and in the Oxford Circus store.
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