It's the end of the world as we know it: Delfina Delletrez Fendi on her obsession with Mayan prophecies.
“My interest in the 2012 Mayan Prophecy began about two years ago. A friend of mine, quite a crazy guy, bought me books on the subject and showed me videos. He’s quite obsessed with ‘end of the world’ theories and is taking it very seriously – right now he’s in the process of building a bunker and left his job so he can prepare himself for ‘the end’. The Mayans prophesise that we are now in the fifth, or ‘Golden’ era, which they believe is the final phase of life on Earth as we know it, and in 2012 there will be an acopolypse or major catastrophe. As a reaction, I created jewellery with symbology and text referencing the Mayan theories – always with a sense of irony. I don’t necessarily believe it all, but I do think we will have a transformation of humanity in a spiritual sense. I feel that we, as humans, need to change. It seems there is a new natural disaster occurring somewhere in the world every month – from earthquakes and floods to volcanic eruptions. We are destroying our planet with our own hands, and the 2012 prophecy is something that, whether you believe it or not, can make you think. Something has to happen, we have to start making changes to the way we are living, and stop abusing our planet… Perhaps it is already too late.”
Fourth generation in a lineage of Italian fashion royalty, 22 year-old Delfina Delettrez Fendi’s knack for design was seemingly predestined. With mother, fashion designer Silvia Fendi, and father, the celebrated French jeweller Bernard Delettrez, schooling her in the art of fashion and jewellery design, it's little wonder Delettrez has fast become a respected designer in her own right. Based in Rome, Delettrez runs a “miniscule” boutique modelled on an antiquated pharmacy near Piazza Navona in the historic centre – an inspiring locale positioned amid the artisans that hand-craft her self-described “surreal, ironic and personal” jewellery. Combining precious stones with unexpected materials, Delettrez’s playfully macabre fifth collection, entitled ‘My World’, sees the designer momentarily part with her trademark skulls and voodoo motifs to make way for (what appears to be) more optimistic iconography. Well, if the end of the world is approaching, why not be upbeat about it?