Lele Sadoughi is embarking on her first collaboration in the art world.
The accessories designer is debuting on Thursday her collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art, releasing the first of three collections inspired by 19th-century European painters like Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt and more.
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“This was a very personal partnership working with the Met and I’m just happy that I had the free rein to pick anything,” Sadoughi said about choosing the artwork for the collection. “That was the hardest decision — narrowing it down into three capsules — so that’s why I started with these European painters and then, obviously, I wanted to pick the most iconic and I wanted it to feel like it made sense in a grouping.”
Sadoughi created her signature headbands, as well as fascinators, jewelry, bags and belts for the collection. Various pieces are screen-printed with the actual artwork, such as her bestselling Lily floral earrings, which depict van Gogh’s “Wheat Field With Cypresses” painting.
She also interpreted the artwork more conceptually by using certain elements in the paintings as inspiration. This comes through in styles such as black bow earrings with pearl detailing inspired by Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s “Madame Georges Charpentier and Her Children” and floral acetate jewelry inspired by Klimt’s “Mäda Primavesi.”
“I didn’t want to be so one-dimensional and say, ‘I’m going to take a screen print and do a headband for every artist,’” Sadoughi said. “It’s a combination of embroidery, screen printing and even very conceptual [styles].”
As the collection offers 33 pieces, Sadoughi said the collaboration is also meant to expand on her existing accessories categories. In addition to her go-to headbands, hair accessories and jewelry, the designer used the collaboration with the Met to expand more into handbags and belts.
Sadoughi also wanted to give the accessories an added layer of texture with embellishments that provide a three-dimensional quality. This came through the use of beads and crystals to highlight attributes of the paintings, such as colorful crystals used on a headband inspired by Monet’s “Water Lilies.”
“I wanted to take a two-dimensional painting and make it multidimensional,” she said. “And, make art that’s typically on a wall come alive and wear it and move.”
Sadoughi will release her next collection with the Met next spring, which will take inspiration from contemporary artwork. Her last collection with the Met will be inspired by the museum’s Egyptian artwork and artifacts.
“It allows anybody to kind of dabble into this art world who might feel intimidated,” she said about the target customer. “I’m not sure how many people can afford their own masterpiece collection with Monet, Renoir, etcetera, but it’s a way that everyone can appreciate it. There’s really something for everyone who appreciates art and I think everyone appreciates something creative. I just wanted to make it accessible like how the art is accessible at the Met.”
The Met x Lele Sadoughi collection ranges in price from $55 to $200. It will be available at the brand’s stores and website and select pieces will be available at The Met Store and the museum’s website.
Launch Gallery: Photos of The Met x Lele Sadoughi Accessories Collection
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