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A post shared by Zendaya (@zendaya).
"With a last name like mine that contains the word 'karat,' that's probably where it should have gone," is how
Talia Avokert
opens our conversation and then immediately qualifies, "even though being a goldsmith was not in my plan at all." She is 34 years old, lives with her husband and their two sons in Pinin Teva on the outskirts of Hod Hasharon, where she also creates. These conditions allow her in the last decade the fertile ground to bring her dreams out into the world as she says, "I no longer keep them quietly to myself". The self-work she has done, plus the opportunities that have come her way in the last two years, are already beginning to send ripples even outside Israel's borders.
"With a last name like mine that contains the word 'karat', that's probably where it should have gone"/courtesy of Talia Avokert
How did you get to the jewelry anyway, or did they get to you?
"I am a second generation of goldsmiths. My grandfather Ephraim Avokert was a goldsmith, and the most talented I have ever known. But it was precisely because of him that I did not want to enter this field. And I will explain: precisely because I saw his work, for me it was impossible. Starting with the fact that it required strong work with the hands , through the miniature details that are produced and finally you also need to really know how to sculpt. So I said to myself, where am I in all this? Who am I?".
A rare and beautiful one piece/Or Danon
But the universe had its own plans. The late Ephraim Avokert passed away 8 years ago, and it was only about a year after his death that she mustered up the courage to enter his studio in Sderot. I started rummaging through all the drawers, even where he kept the "unimportant" things, and I found there mesmerizing pieces of hamsots or jewelry he was working on. Everything is kept with me." Almost a decade later Aboukrat will launch the
ATUA x Aboukrat
collection which stars spectacular ethnic hamsas that she designed inspired by her grandfather and his craft, which sold like hot cakes, by the way, at the beginning of the war.
Where does it take you in life, the entrance to your uncle's abandoned jewelry warehouse?
"At that time, I was pregnant (with my eldest son, Goma), working in the field of marketing and customer management and not at all involved in the whole world of goldsmithing. Already as a child I was drawing and sculpting in clay, but even though in my adulthood it was clear to me that I wanted to engage in art, in creation, fear stopped me. Even when I already entered To the warehouse I still didn't understand where I was going with my passion to create, because everything interested me. Fashion, and shoes and bags, and probably also jewelry."
When art becomes fashion/courtesy of Talia Avokert
After considering what and where she wants to study, Avokert finally decides on Yael Shakdi's goldsmith workshop. "I was already looking into studying fashion, but something kept bringing me back to goldsmithing," she sharpens and continues, "the more I got into it and saw the tools and the work with my hands that I really love, suddenly everything became sharper. I knew this was home, that's where I should be. And I always tell Goma, that even when he was in my stomach, he was the one who gave me the courage to go for it," she signs off with a smile. As a result, the year that Avokert originally took for maternity leave, instantly became her professionalization period. "I started studying two weeks after I gave birth" she proudly announces, and rightfully so.
The heart-shaped underwear model of Avokert/Or Danon
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And when did it turn from a hobby into your profession and source of income?
"During the first year of school, I made around 100 pieces of jewelry, if not more. I just had a burst of creativity. I worked day and night, I was breastfeeding anyway, so I took advantage of that time. To be honest, already around the first class of school, I decided that I would quit my job and engage only in goldsmithing, And in the end I really did it. There was simply no option for me to go back to my previous life. In the beginning, I held home sales and designed jewelry for family and friends, it was mostly word of mouth and I assumed it would remain really small. At the same time, I also continued to the second year of studies, and that's when I realized that my true passion It's wax carving - which is basically a sculpture, so I went deeper and specialized in it. I loved the hard metal, the hammers, the saw and the small filigree works so much."
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A post shared by Jewlery by Talia Aboukrat (@atua_studio).
In 2019, Avokert replaces the small table in the closet she created, as well as the dining table with the beautiful tablecloth on it that she presented and sold in her parents' house, with a real work space when she establishes the ATUA studio. In the following years, she gains a growing clientele who fall in love with her beautiful and intriguing jewelry. In retrospect and in practice, her impressive carving skills ("I can actually create and sculpt anything I want"), combined with her unique design talent and aesthetics, as well as the fact that she dares and dreams big - brought her straight to Paris Fashion Week in 2023.
The goldsmithing process/courtesy of Talia Avokert
How did the whole story unfold until your jewelry adorned models walking the runway in Paris?
"A contact was made between me and a fashion design student at IFM (Institut Français de la Mode) who suggested that we collaborate - we will present my jewelry together with her designs, in the school's graduation show. With the opportunity also in the horizon, a golden opportunity to present our joint collection this week The fashion in Paris, and it did happen! We are both of Moroccan descent and our creations speak a similar language, really everything looks amazing on the runway. After the show I also took photos that were published on the Vogue Runway website."
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A post shared by Jewlery by Talia Aboukrat (@atua_studio).
In recent years, body jewelry (again) is enjoying a renaissance, as demonstrated on desirable runways such as Raban, Rodarte and Dilara, in a sort of reawakening that focuses the focus on the language of the body. Only recently it's not just a matter of metallic decoration on a garment, but jewelry is starting to replace clothing items, with an emphasis on bras. See entry: Bella Hadid who was injured in 2021 on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival in a Schiaparelli haute couture dress that featured a "lungs" simulated bra, or Emily Ratajkowski in Raban's fall-winter 2023 campaign wearing a silly chain bra that left very little room for imagination. And let's not forget Gucci's embellished G bra that went viral and is the object of adoration of daring It Girls. That's why I won't exaggerate if I say that I was very impressed as soon as I was exposed to the sneak peek that Abukert put up from her joint project with Anal Amar, designer of wedding and evening dresses, which stars a "set" of bra and panties made of cold but hot metal.
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Up until the design of the collection you did for the runway in Paris, you created jewelry that you wear, and now you actually continue and expand your creation to the body environment - that is, it is already a piece of jewelry that you "wear". Can you put your finger on what led you to this?
"For so many years I waited for the opportunity to produce something just for the sake of art, but yes with the goal that in the end it would also be sold. So when the opportunity came I took it with both hands. But I will be precise, I think that every piece of jewelry I make comes completely from my art. The only difference is that when it is intended For the runway then the items had to be bigger than usual, and equally when it's a piece of jewelry that you wear then it has to be smaller and wearable."
Avokert says that creating a bra was an old dream of hers, until once again the universe (or fate, whatever you choose) entered the chat when this year summoned her the perfect opportunity to make the dream come true.
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A post shared by Rabanne (@rabanne).
Tell me about your connection with the designer Anal Amar
"It all started with a message that Anal sent me on Instagram last summer (about two months before the war), she said that she was thinking of making some kind of garment that would combine my work with hers. Clients I rejected and they were waiting for me. But I still decided that we needed to meet, and the connection between us was too much. I met a stunning designer, including an amazing young woman with big dreams, which I'm sure she will fulfill. I realized that now it would be harder for me to refuse her."
What was the inspiration and vision for your joint design? Did you look at Schiaparelli for example?
"Wow, it's an amazing fashion house, but my inspiration mostly doesn't come from other designers. And of course, at the end we see the fashion shows, get inspired and the images enter the soul and consciousness. But the inspiration for me comes from my love for the metal and the curiosity to do much more with it."
"An amazing young woman with big dreams", Talia Avokart and Anal Amar/Walla!, courtesy of the photos
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To my question if it comes from the place or from her desire to decorate the body, Avokert replies simply: "No, the desire is for art" and continues: "Specifically regarding this bra, one of my pairs of earrings that appeared on the runway in Paris were the inspiration for the shape of the bra, which flutters the female areas Basically, our basic idea was to create a combination between the hardness of the metal (brass) and the strength it brings and the chiffon that symbolizes softness, and this is the woman we saw before our eyes - she has both strength and softness. But it didn't start straight away, at first we were only looking to cover the The nipples using metal that will fit on top of the fabric of a dress that Anal will design or something along those lines, and only as we progressed in brainstorming and working very closely between us did we decide that I was going to create, attach, a real bra." She worked on the Avokart bra for 8-9 months, including a long pause in the middle from the moment the war broke out because "my work ends at a time of such extreme sadness," she kindly describes.
Totally see it on Zendaya or Eden Pines/Idan Malka
And when did the "underpants" arrive?
"About two weeks before the photo shoot of Anal's collection, during which we were also planning to shoot this piece of ours, she suggested - "maybe we complete the look with something else?... maybe a triangle at the back?". It immediately sounded interesting to me and I wanted to think about where I was taking it, I also knew that I had very little time. Two white nights later it happened - I created a kind of matching underwear, which highlights the femininity, the pelvis, the strength a little more."
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A post shared by Jewlery by Talia Aboukrat (@atua_studio).
Was the model you created originally intended for someone specific?
"Originally it was entirely for the sake of art, and it remained so throughout the entire process. But as soon as we understood what was created and what potential the design embodied, we already started to do Nim Dropping and fantasize about who would wear it. The name of Eden Pines came up, for example... but the dream was always and still is that Zendaya would wear Our design. These are women who are confident in themselves, who are not afraid to show their strength and femininity, and that is exactly what the model represents. Zendaya is an amazing actress and you can see the combination in question in her personality and what she transmits, and of course her physical data is also suitable."
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A post shared by Schiaparelli (@schiaparelli).
what is the next step? What are you dreaming or plotting next?
"We plan to do more things together and design more wearable systems, hopefully also commercial ones."
And have you thought about how such designs will be priced?
"It will be very difficult to price it, in general, pricing art is something that is not easy. But I believe that once we create something more wearable, the goldsmith's work will also be much less intense, and then we will understand how to price it."
Until that happens, from Abukart's point of view - Zendaya is really not going to remain just a dream. She and her co-creator plan to reach out to the Hollywood actress on behalf of the Hollywood actress in order to dress her: "Although it started as a dream mainly for the purpose of inspiration, we will absolutely try to reach her."
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jewelry
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