‘I think it’s my inner child speaking,’ fine jeweller Sabine Getty explains of her love of bold, primary colours. ‘I love things that take me out of reality and into a happier world.’
It’s no wonder, then, that bright, cartoonish tones from the 1980s infiltrate both Getty’s work and home. The Memphis art movement has long inspired her, be it the zany, zig-zagging rows of diamonds on rings and the bright, waved bangles of her last collection, ‘Memphis’, or the designer’s acid-hued, Ettore Sotsass-filled apartment in Mayfair, London. Her new collection, BIG, follows suit, though this time pooling colour palettes and geometric playfulness from the Eighties film world – specifically the 1988 Tom Hanks hit of the same name.
‘I think the link I have to that decade is totally emotional,’ Getty explains. ‘It’s nostalgia for my childhood: the subconscious memory of growing up with colour and fun design such as the Memphis Group, and watching all the zany films of the time.’ The BIG collection riffs on games paraphernalia, such as dominoes, building blocks and children’s toys, in soft sweet-shop shades. A sugary pink sapphire encrusted doughnut ring hangs from a fine gold collar while elementary shapes – triangles, squares, oblongs – adorn fingers and ear lobes in blue and green sapphires.
But why Big? The film in which a miscalculated wish sees a 12-year-old boy wake up one morning as a 30-year-old man (Hanks), and whose speedy acquisition of an executive job as toy-tester for a world-famous company sets in motion a series of comic events. ‘It’s one of my all-time favourite movies. I think it resonated with kids everywhere and that’s why it’s such a cult hit… the idea of somehow being a kid that must play grown up. Dream and fantasy is so embedded into the movie’s reality that it totally blew my mind!’
An afternoon spent in the playroom with her daughter Gene inspired Getty to rethink her child’s bright wooden shapes, and imagine ‘a world of love, colour, innocence and childishness’. After all, who said life had to be all work and no play?
Sabine Getty in her new London studio/showroom, wearing a Courrèges top and skirt and Chanel boots. Furnishings include a ‘Kristall’ side table by Michele De Lucchi (left), a ‘Tahiti’ duck lamp by Ettore Sottsass (right) and a ‘Brazil’ desk by Peter Shire, all for Memphis. Originally featured in the September 2016 issue of Wallpaper* (W*210)
Left, ’Rectangle’ earring with blue sapphires. Right, ’Triangle’ earring with yellow sapphires, both in 18-ct gold
INFORMATION
For more information, visit the Sabine Getty website
-
The Park: step inside Jeremy King's mid-century dinerOne of several 2024 openings from restauranteur, Jeremy King, food critic Ben McCormack books in at The Park
-
Six brilliant bars for your 2025 celebrations, hot off the Wallpaper* travel deskWallpaper’s most-read bar reviews of the year can't be wrong: here’s inspiration for your festive and new year plans, from a swanky Las Vegas lounge to a minimalist London drinking den
-
Misfires and Monstrosities: three vehicular design disasters that show taste is in retreatFrom a multi-million dollar piece merchandise to a wretched Rolls-Royce, these are the low points of the year in transportation design
-
Tom Brady’s watch collection is for sale at Sotheby’s: here are the highlights‘The GOAT Collection: Watches & Treasures from Tom Brady’ goes on sale at Sotheby’s New York on 10 December
-
Art takes London: Tiffany & Co, Damien Hirst and artists take over Selfridges' windowsFour British contemporary artists celebrate Tiffany & Co's pioneering history with a series of storied window displays
-
Late summer jewels: what to wear at Golden HourLate summer signals a jewellery style-shift. These independent designers have got it covered
-
Shinola’s Elijah McCoy pocket watch pays homage to the pioneering locomotive engineerShinola continues its Great American series with the Elijah McCoy Mechanic 45mm pocket watch
-
Lugano’s versatile high jewellery pieces are too good to save for special occasionsCalifornian brand Lugano embraces unexpected materials and cool design codes in its informal high jewellery
-
The American watch brands to know nowFrom Autodromo to JN Shapiro, American watch brands are having a moment
-
All smiles: How a grillz jewellery making class in London became an international hitWhat started as a passion project quickly exploded in popularity. We get the story behind the grillz-making workshop at Cockpit London
-
Emerging jewellery designers to get to knowThese independent, new and emerging jewellery designers and brands from New York to Paris are firmly on our radar
