Michelle Fantaci’s jewelry design philosophy reflects her background in interior design and her love of fashion. The New York native describes her style as “well-placed color and warmth in a clean, pared-down environment; the details writ large.” In her jewelry collections, that translates to well-aimed hits of emeralds and rubies in wearable pieces big enough to make a statement, but scaled for everyday wear.
Fantaci’s passion for design began at the knee of her grandmother, who was a seamstress.
“I’ve been interested in adornment of the body as long as I can remember,” says Fantaci. “I watched my grandmother make garments for friends and family. I liked watching the process of measuring, cutting, sewing, and analyzing the fit, the drape and other details.” Her grandmother’s career “included everything from working in a factory to a high-end private couturier on Madison Avenue ([actresses] Zsa Zsa and Eva Gabor were clients). But she was really a designer at heart. She made whole garments without patterns.”
An educational journey
Fantaci first became fascinated with jewelry in high school, where she did a project on traditional Native American jewelry from the Zuni tribe.
“I also trawled pawn shops,” she recalls, “just taking it all in like a magpie. And I took classes at Parsons [School of Design in New York] while they still had a jewelry department.”
She explored that passion further by taking a year off from her studies in interior design at New York’s Pratt Institute to study metalsmithing and jewelry-making at the Studio Arts College International (SACI) in Florence, Italy. “I still have the piece that was in our gallery show at the end of the academic year,” she says — a cuff based on Giotto’s Campanile in Florence.
She returned to school and eventually earned her master’s degree in interior design, but her heart was elsewhere. “I chose to go back to school because I wanted to design. What I liked and still like about interior design is how the details inform our experience of a space: the materials, colors, finishes, and where these things join and curate objects in a space. I still love interior and industrial design — they are both continually inspiring. But I missed working with my hands. In hindsight, I think I also knew that I was more comfortable on the small scale and already knew much more about jewelry. That might seem obvious now, but it wasn’t then. I had to build up the courage to admit that jewelry was a real path for me.”
Fantaci took her commitment to the next level by studying wax modeling under technical instructor Fred de Vos, and in 2007, she launched her namesake collection.
Aesthetics and ethics
Fantaci refers to her designs as “youthful but not junior.” The idea is to appeal to women in a younger age range, but not to the exclusion of other women.
“My jewelry has a subtle sex appeal and sensuality without making the wearer feel like she’s trying too hard, which is appealing to a youthful but sophisticated aesthetic,” she elaborates. “If my line were a person, she would be a complex female character.”
Fantaci is also inspired by the movement toward environmental responsibility. She uses recycled gold for castings, wire and sheet metal. “My next step is to get chain and findings from either Fairmined or recycled sources. I use Canadamark diamonds when possible. When not possible, I have to rely on the moral compass of the stone dealer, and I wouldn’t do business with anyone whose trustworthiness I question.”
Her most successful collection is called Bonded, and it has multiple meanings: “Being bound, also a bonded pair, and bonded as in certified, insured valuable. There’s nothing that does not need to be there, and I would like to wear every single piece.”
In 2017, she launched her first bridal collection, known for its use of rare diamond cuts and unusual settings. She loves rose and step cuts, but lately has been making more use of full-cut round brilliants. These nontraditional combinations make for “more of a sense of play,” she says.
‘Beauty in unexpected moments’
Looking back, Fantaci feels that the time she spent studying wax modeling with de Vos and metalsmithing in Florence had only a limited influence on her technique and style. “It was definitely valuable,” she says, “but school is…school. I feel like I learn more on my own or asking for guidance on something specific.”
What inspires her? “Beauty in unexpected moments — like seeing a view of Canal Street framed perfectly by the buildings, and strong sunlight and shadows walking down Eldridge Street in Manhattan.”
She sees the beauty in the everyday, and particularly in the complexity of seemingly simple objects. “My jewelry embodies what would seem like competing characteristics simultaneously: urbane/lyrical, polished/sensitive, refined/playful. Every collection is thematic, and the theme is a change from what came last, yet the collections present well together.”
Where does Fantaci see jewelry design going from here? “If you are going to make me guess the future, my prediction would be that we will see more customization in both the highest and lowest price categories, and increased price disparity. Bespoke jewelry will push technical and artistic limits. On the other end, [we will see] the fast fashion equivalent of fine jewelry with increased customization options.”
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Images: Michelle FantaciArticle from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2020. To subscribe click here.