MARIPOSSA
The Designer
Drawing on her background in psychology and fashion design, self-taught Australian designer Lauren Besser is guided by experimentation and instinct. It was during travels through Africa and Central and South America, and the remarkable women she encountered handmaking craft as a means to live, that a longstanding passion for making her own jewellery and accessories naturally evolved in the form of MARIPOSSA.
The Label
MARIPOSSA debuted in Australia in 2010. Within its first year the label was invited to showcase its artisan jewellery in Germany, receiving the Young Designer Award for Accessories during F/W 2011/12 Mercedes-Benz Berlin Fashion Week.
Focusing on notions of contradiction and opposition, designs transform coarse metals into fabric-like jewellery fusing raw earth crystals, sterling silver and fine chains. By interspersing these contrasting mediums each piece has a distinct sense of aesthetic malleability, provoking dialogue between the wearer and observer.
Followed by fashion figures such as Polish model Anja Rubik and singer Rihanna, MARIPOSSA has featured in Vogue, Russh and Grazia among other publications and is now stocked in select fashion boutiques internationally in-store and online. Each piece is hand oxidized or dip-dyed ensuring its exclusivity and all MARIPOSSA pieces are designed and hand made in Australia.