The Black Nouveau

Daphne Guinness is my hero. Yes, that is a strong statement but its true. Aside from being the heiress to the brewery empire, she is a true artist in every sense of the word. From the release of her short film “The Murder of Jean Seberg” to many of her own pieces on display at the current Alexander McQueen exhibition at the Met, to her outstanding performance in the windows of Barney’s in her customer made feather Mcqueen dress, she holds the highest bar when it comes to creativity. Her latest project consisted of making jewelry, and not just any piece of jewelry, a diamond glove. Taking over 2 years to create and designed and part owned by world-renowned jeweller Shaun Leane, Daphne entitled the armoured glove Contra Mundum, which is latin for ‘against the world.” Guinness revels in the idea of armour as she states “I dislike the idea of jewellery being like a price tag around someone’s neck. It needs to be something else – and there is something extremely magical about armour.” The piece is crafted from white gold and platinum and features over 5,000 diamonds including bird shapes woven intricately into it. It is a true marvel of artisan jewelry crafting and there is absolutely nothing like it in the world. The arm was molded to fit Guinness’s arm exactly and she recently showed the glove off in a small  performance at the White Cube gallery in New York.

Guinness laid on a stone effigy in the middle of the White Cube gallery for over 2 hours while observers and guests watched the performance. Her good friend Tom Ford was in attendance and leaned in to give her a kiss, which was meant to be an honorable act for a deceased loved one, they even shared a smile. Guinness wore her custom-made, crystal body suit which was one of the last pieces ever made by her beloved friend, the late Alexander Mcqueen. The eerie and morbid feel of the performance was off set by the sheer beauty and skill Guinness exudes. The glove is on display at the White Cube gallery and will be also featured in the Daphne Guinness exhibition with F.I.T in September.