Salt intakes and salt reduction initiatives in Southeast Asia: a review
Yasemen Hussaein in Salt
2
THE CUT Yasemen Hussein creates beautiful, boldly avant-garde body jewels. The 40-year-old artist describes her intricately crafted work as ‘wearable sculpture’ and, lately, they’ve been seen on some of the highest-profile entertainers on the planet. A pair of ruby-red Swarovski-encrusted ‘skull shoulders’ by Hussein, for example, sparkled on Britney during the ‘microphone sequence’ of ‘Hold It Against Me’. Released in March, the music video for the second song on Spears’ hit album Femme Fatale was shot by Jonas Åkerlund, renowned Swedish filmmaker and video director. His wife, stylist B. Åkerlund, created Spears’ look for the production, which the performer described as, ‘one of the best [videos] I have ever done.’ Shortly afterwards, in an April episode of American Idol , more than 25,000 Swarovski Elements shimmered from a neck piece and shoulder pads, sculpted by Hussein, were worn by Katy Perry while performing her hit single, ‘E.T.’ with a hologram of Kanye West. Hussein’s pieces gave the perfect enhancement to Perry’s white catsuit, already embellished with hundreds of light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In the apartment above Hussein’s atelier – a chic, live-work domain occupying a remote patch of outer London – this gifted artist attempts to explain why and how she makes her extraordinary work. Although, clarification eludes her, due to the energy she exudes (comparable to a whirling dervish). First, out come photos of an eclectic array of recent projects, including gilded body adornments she has made over the past five years for the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show; burnished gold armor she conceived for will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas to wear to the 52nd Grammy Awards (he chickened out and ‘wore it on tour’, apparently); and sinuous wigs of blackened copper produced for a Summer 2010 Museum of London exhibition, juxtaposing lavish Georgian dress with elaborate Philip Treacy millinery. ‘The perfect example of when fashion worlds collide,’ observed The Daily Telegraph’s fashion critic Hilary Alexander of the alluring display. Meanwhile, Hussein’s explanation of the background contributing to her burgeoning career proves to be as unending and tangled as the copper-wire wig she created as an homage to Rapunzel for Toni & Guy’s proprietor, Anthony Mascolo. The story begins with Hussein’s early desire to become a performer (which was thwarted by her strict Turkish-Cypriot parents, who sent her to art school instead), and also involves a road trip across America with a younger man sporting a cowboy hat, a sojourn of sculpting in a Devon farmhouse, an encounter with actor Rupert Everett (who has bought her work), and a glass statue of a mermaid she sold to a Chicago night club owner for $4,000. She ‘stuffed the cash in [her] bra’, before leaving town. In the mid-Nineties, on graduating with a BA Honours in glass from the University of Wolverhampton, Hussein was awarded a scholarship to study at Illinois State University. At its College of Fine Arts, while completing a Masters specializing in glass sculpture, she also embarked on a series of courses at the Penland School of Craft, which she completed in 2004. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina, this legendary craft school was established in 1929 and, from the Sixties, has attracted students from around the world. Graduates include the ceramicist Alice R. Ballard, the glass artist Richard Ritter and the pioneering blacksmith Elizabeth Brim. ‘Everyone who studies craft knows about Penland,’ explains Hussein. ‘It was heaven.’ At Penland, it seems, Hussein became fearless about her work, developing a ‘love [of] the smell of steel’ and copper. Today, she collects copper from scrap yards and charity shops, and in her deft hands, the junk becomes jewels. ‘Copper bends as though I’m drawing with it,’ she reflects. ‘I love to weld it. You cannot stop me trying anything.’ Hussein describes herself as an ‘engineer – a problem solver’. She is also a natural performer, who could moonlight as a stand-up comic. With an irreverence that belies their originality and expert finish, she brandishes the body jewels she has made for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Curvaceous gilded feathers hug her right arm and left hip and then up, over her head, she lifts an impressive shoulder piece. Hussein’s petite proportions are slight compared to the rangy beauties who model her work. Nevertheless, she test-drives all the pieces she makes to ensure ‘everything fits perfectly’, and works it all to a soundtrack she mixes on her ‘old school’ stereo. Sifting through the stack of CDs next to it, she adds: ‘Adele, Chapel Club, Interpol – I DJ myself.’ Although art does not immediately spring to mind when conjuring the Victoria’s Secret show (it’s more like playful supermodels flaunting lacy underthings), Hussein’s gilded works are as fit for the Victoria & Albert Museum as they are for Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima. swarovski-elements.com Bronwyn Cosgrave writes for Vogue and is the chair of the Dorchester Collection Fashion prize ‘Copper bends as though I’m drawing with it,’ she reflects. ‘I love to weld it. You cannot stop me trying anything’ MATERIAL GIRL An unhindered imagination and a profound understanding of her craft make Yasemen Hussein an icon among designers WORDS Bronwyn Cosgrave
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Designer Yasemen Hussein interviewed in Salt, the magazine for Swarovski
Transcript of Yasemen Hussaein in Salt
THE CUT
Yasemen Hussein creates beautiful, boldly avant-garde body jewels. The 40-year-old artist describes her intricately crafted work as ‘wearable sculpture’ and, lately, they’ve been seen on some of the highest-profile entertainers on the planet. A pair of ruby-red Swarovski-encrusted ‘skull shoulders’ by Hussein, for example, sparkled on Britney during the ‘microphone sequence’ of ‘Hold It Against Me’. Released in March, the music video for the second song on Spears’ hit album Femme
Fatale was shot by Jonas Åkerlund, renowned Swedish filmmaker and video director. His wife, stylist B. Åkerlund, created Spears’ look for the production, which the performer described as, ‘one of the best [videos] I have ever done.’ Shortly afterwards, in an April episode of American Idol, more than 25,000 Swarovski Elements shimmered from a neck piece and shoulder pads, sculpted by Hussein, were worn by Katy Perry while performing her hit single, ‘E.T.’ with a hologram of Kanye West. Hussein’s pieces gave the perfect enhancement to Perry’s white catsuit, already embellished with hundreds of light-emitting diodes (LEDs).
In the apartment above Hussein’s atelier – a chic, live-work domain occupying a remote patch of outer London – this gifted artist attempts to explain why and how she makes her extraordinary work. Although, clarification eludes her, due to the energy she exudes (comparable to a whirling dervish). First, out come photos of an eclectic array of recent projects, including gilded body adornments she has made over the past five years for the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show; burnished gold armor she conceived for will.i.am of The Black Eyed Peas to wear to the 52nd Grammy Awards (he chickened out and ‘wore it on tour’, apparently); and sinuous wigs of blackened copper produced for a Summer 2010 Museum of London exhibition, juxtaposing lavish Georgian dress with elaborate Philip Treacy millinery. ‘The perfect example of when fashion worlds collide,’ observed The Daily Telegraph’s fashion critic Hilary Alexander of the alluring display.
Meanwhile, Hussein’s explanation of the background contributing to her burgeoning career proves to be as unending and tangled as the copper-wire wig she created as an homage to Rapunzel for Toni & Guy’s proprietor, Anthony Mascolo. The story begins with Hussein’s early desire to become a performer (which was thwarted by her strict Turkish-Cypriot parents, who sent her to art school instead), and also involves a road trip across America with a younger man sporting a cowboy hat, a sojourn of sculpting in a Devon farmhouse, an encounter with actor Rupert Everett (who has bought her work), and a glass statue of a mermaid she sold to a Chicago night club owner for $4,000. She ‘stuffed the cash in [her] bra’, before leaving town.
In the mid-Nineties, on graduating with a BA Honours in glass from the University of Wolverhampton, Hussein was awarded a scholarship to study at Illinois State University. At its College of Fine Arts, while completing a Masters specializing in glass sculpture, she also embarked on a series of courses at the
Penland School of Craft, which she completed in 2004. Nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, North Carolina, this legendary craft school was established in 1929 and, from the Sixties, has attracted students from around the world. Graduates include the ceramicist Alice R. Ballard, the glass artist Richard Ritter and the pioneering blacksmith Elizabeth Brim. ‘Everyone who studies craft knows about Penland,’ explains Hussein. ‘It was heaven.’ At Penland, it seems, Hussein became fearless about her work, developing a ‘love [of] the smell of steel’ and copper.
Today, she collects copper from scrap yards and charity shops, and in her deft hands, the junk becomes jewels. ‘Copper bends as though I’m drawing with it,’ she reflects. ‘I love to weld it. You cannot stop me trying anything.’
Hussein describes herself as an ‘engineer – a problem solver’. She is also a natural performer, who could moonlight as a stand-up comic. With an irreverence that belies their originality and expert finish, she brandishes the body jewels she has made for the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. Curvaceous gilded feathers hug her right arm and left hip and then up, over her head, she lifts an impressive shoulder piece. Hussein’s peti te proportions are slight compared to the rangy beauties who model her work. Nevertheless, she test-drives all the pieces she makes to ensure ‘everything fits perfectly’, and works it all to a soundtrack she mixes on her ‘old school’ stereo. Sifting through the stack of CDs next to it, she adds: ‘Adele, Chapel Club, Interpol – I DJ myself.’
Although art does not immediately spring to mind when conjuring the Victoria’s Secret show (it’s more like playful supermodels flaunting lacy underthings), Hussein’s gilded works are as fit for the Victoria & Albert Museum as they are for Heidi Klum and Adriana Lima. swarovski-elements.com
Bronwyn Cosgrave writes for Vogue and is the
chair of the Dorchester Collection Fashion prize
‘Copper bends as though I’m drawing with it,’ she reflects. ‘I love to weld it. You cannot stop me trying anything’
material girl An unhindered imagination and a
profound understanding of her craft make Yasemen Hussein an icon among designersWORDS Bronwyn Cosgrave
21
WILD THINGS Opposite: Yasemen Hussein in her London studio This page, left: Britney Spears sparkles in Hussein’s
crystal-covered skull shoulder pads. Above: Katy Perry makes an impact wearing Hussein and CuteCircuit
