Montreal: Arielle De Pinto’s chains of fashion
Like something from a wild teenage dream, Arielle De Pinto (arielledepinto.com) launched her international career as a jewellery designer on the road between Vancouver, Los Angeles and New York. Crocheting and knitting sterling silver and vermeil chains while driving through the United States, she ended up fresh and ready at New York Fashion Week presenting her collections at the Gen Art Fresh Faces of Fashion and afterwards in Paris.
All this happened within a year, with no place to call home and with the help of her business partner and friend, Mary-Catharine. Her story feels like a modern version of On the Road, substituting the writing with necklaces, tops and facemasks.
Carried on by this daring attitude, free spirit and artistic view, De Pinto, a Toronto native who studied in Montreal and interned in New York, is now an international seller. Her original, handcrafted jewellery can be found in Montreal at Reborn (231 St-Paul W., Ste. 100, 514-499-8549, reborn.ws), No. 6 in New York, Scout in L.A., Kokon to Zai in London and the Hong Kong branch of Maria Luisa. Trying to get a hold of her was not easy, but this sweet soul answered some of my questions:
How did you come up with the idea of doing crochet with precious materials to create unique pieces? “I would have to call it natural evolution. I was knitting and crocheting like crazy, got bored with it, but also kept trying to integrate chains that I would find at trimmings stores into my work.”
What is your motto in life?“This is a tough one…. Life has been good to me. I have an extremely patient and stable temperament, partially out of necessity. I try to keep myself from getting stressed at almost all costs.”
Crochet probably helps too!
