Londoners Magazine

London based artist Rowan Mersh, 24, is the talk of the town. Items from his bold new jewellery collection have featured prominently in Elle magazine this month. Rowan explains his work to Kate Livesey.

Approach to fashion:

“I always found I had the freedom to pursue an extremely experimental approach within my practice. My passion lay with the development of unique techniques for the manipulation of fabrics.

“By understanding a textile’s inherent characteristics, from their structure and the way they are knitted, woven or formed, to the yarns used in their construction, an intuitive sense is developed. It is this affinity with the cloth that informs possible capabilities and potential for manipulation, and subsequently my creations.

Early success:

“It wasn’t until my final term at the Royal College of Art in 2005 that I adopted a sculptural foundation within my work. I became frustrated with the notion of ‘textiles’ as, fundamentally, a service industry that filters into fashion and interiors.

“In my final term at the RCA I set out to create a series of work that could stand alone, to be viewed and bought for what they were and not what they could be. And that’s exactly what happened.

“From my final show, two pieces were acquired by the V&A. A private collector bought one. And the final piece won the Nationwide Mercury art prize in 2005 and became part of the Mercury collection.

Inspiration:

“I’m inspired by artists and designers who continually push the boundaries of what is possible what with their chosen medium. Design studios such as rAndom International and Troika, kinetic sculptors such as Rebecca Horn and Theo Jansen.

Fashion, jewellery and the future:

“It was really by chance I stumbled into the realms of fashion. As part of a static Fabric Sculpture Show in February 2007, I made a small collection of spin-off sculptural brooches and neckpieces with the intention of my work becoming slightly more accessible to the public.

“To my surprise, sales rocketed. Again, by chance, I met Valery Demure, an absolutely incredible contemporary jewellery agent, through a journalist friend of mine the following month.

“We discussed the possibility of myself creating a coherent collection of jewellery to be shown in Valery’s Paris showroom for the upcoming fashion week (spring/summer 2008). After a little thought I accepted; the rest is history.”