The Influence of Art 2

Zeemou Zeng The Impressionists Dangle Earrings - "Veridian" - 18k white gold, peridot, blue & green chalcedony - inspired by Claude Monet's painting "Water Lilies and the Japanese bridge".

THE INFLUENCE OF ART 2

Celebrating the launch of his new fine jewellery collection, The Impressionists, Zeemou Zeng continues his conversations with friends and colleagues about the value of Impressionist art in their lives. Here he shares insights from Hilary Alexander OBE, President of the Graduate Fashion Foundation. 

“Art is intrinsic to fashion. Major designers, including Christian Dior, Valentino, John Galliano, Dame Vivienne Westwood, Alexander McQueen, Yves Saint Laurent, reference artists or take inspiration from art history whether it be the Old Masters or the Impressionists. 

Monet is my favourite Impressionist artist. I was lucky enough to visit an exhibition of his ‘Nympheas’ at the Tuileries, where the works were arranged in a circle around each salon. If you stood in the middle it was like being a dragon-fly hovering over a lake of water lilies. A few years later, I visited the Claude Monet Foundation, in Giverny, Normandy, which is home to the artist’s country house and legendary gardens, which were themselves considered works of art.  They say, of Monet, that his garden was his oeuvre, the flowers his palette. Standing in his gardens, gazing over the water, the flowers, and the trees is like stepping into a painting. 

My favourite is The Japanese Footbridge and the Water Lily Pond. Curiously, the little blue bridge which arches over Monet’s Japanese water lily garden was actually inspired by a bridge which Monet painted on a visit to the icy outpost of Sandvika, Norway, in the 1890’s.  I also visited the house where he lived for more than 40 years. The dining room is inspired by the colour yellow - curtains, table-linen, crockery. Apparently Monet was an excellent cook and his cookery notebooks have a recipe for roast carp, one of his favourites!”

Graduate Fashion Foundation is the registered charity responsible for organising the annual Graduate Fashion Week event in London, recognised as the largest platform for emerging BA fashion talent in the world. This year, GFW celebrates its 30th anniversary, with more than 100,000 graduates across all fashion disciplines having been launched, mentored and assisted over three decades. GFW 2021, June 12-18, Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross; tickets/information www.graduatefashionweek.com