|
fashion: feature
Birds of a feather
Sylvia Giles talks to Boh Runga
about her new jewellery line on her visit back home
Expanded
from issue 26 of Lucire
BOH RUNGA’S
FATHER met her mother while he was stationed in Malaysia.
The military man met the lounge singer, who was still being chaperoned.
It sounds very romantic, I remark, ‘Yes, very romantic,’ replies
Boh, ‘At least I hope it was! I’m sure that it must have been.’
Romantic, and this military–creative background
has made three very successful New Zealand women. Boh, the eldest,
is now adding ‘jeweller’ to her CV,
recently releasing a range entitled Birdland with New Zealand
Mint.
You may remember Boh from her days leading the
New Zealand band Stella. When the band appeared on the New Zealand
music horizon, the image of Boh that was burned on to the public
retina was that of her flaming red hair. A volcano; less in the
distance but much more in the foreground, amongst an otherwise monochromatic
landscape.
These days, Boh works from Los Angeles. She claims
she is ‘a doodler—I am not an artist by any means!’ The doodles
have been transformed into a concise range of jewellery, depicting
various indigenous birds. ‘I like to have them well fed, plump and
happy. For the first range, I wanted to make a range for New Zealanders,
and I chose native birds because of their appeal. Before I moved
to la I wanted to take with me something I liked.’
Our native birds are not only evidence of our
geographical isolation, but motifs representing the cultural isolation
which feeds the hunger to explore. It often serves as the furnace
driving the Kiwi engine as we trot around the globe doing all those
things that New Zealanders do: songwriting, movie making, solving
the mysteries of life the universe and everything.
So how does the New Zealand landscape resolve
itself with that of LA? ‘I find it
fascinating. There is that outwardness: they are definitely not
shy. Coming back home I realize we are move conservative. We are
modest, and not as forthright. And if you head to Miami, it’s even
worse!’
It sounds like the next collection may just have
more of LA rubbed into the surface.
It might be seen as more “settled” than nostalgic. Entitled
Weapons of Mass Devotion, it has been influenced by the boutique
and vintage stores surrounding the expat in East Hollywood. More
complicated, more trinkets and more eclectic. So while Boh introduces
New Zealand to Los Angeles with her current work, seemingly the
next collection introduces a little LA
to New Zealand.
Boh declares that much of her jewellery design
is the result of the ‘crazy thing I get up to at weird hours. I
run ahead of myself, but I would like to get into working with semi-precious
stones. Oh, and working ultimately with diamonds. I like that the
romantic side of someone might buy for someone. Something so outlandish,
it’s really totally wasteful. But in that sense I see myself as
having a very privileged role.’
In a design sense, jewellery offers a harder surface
in which to invest emotions, more so than a piece of cloth. While
Boh may modestly declare her offerings are the result of doodles,
it is clear the romance and connections of family are never far
away from her designs. She lamented, ‘Our family lost our father
a few years back. I just know he would be so pleased with what I’m
doing. He would be offering up ideas and stories.’
Aside from influences and inspiration, how has
the musician found the process of designing as compared to the composition
and performance of a song? ‘It was very exciting, I just love shiny
stuff. It’s so visual and tactile. A song is like a little capsule,
whereas ideas for a collection link together. I actually find the
prototype wax models that come back first the most amazing, more
amazing than the gold and silver. A CD
is so commonplace. Or, it feels that way after so long. I love getting
those models back.’
Stella, with Boh at the forefront, erupted in
to our “creative eco-system” at a time where the local
music scene wasn’t quiet as prolific as it is now. The nostalgic
Kiwiana theme has long been in danger of tiring, but Boh tackles
the brief with a classic restraint that serves the romance of her
materials. •
Add
to Del.icio.us | Digg
it | Add
to Facebook
|
Above: From Boh Runga’s Messenger Stories collection
in collaboration with New Zealand Mint, shown at the Juliette Hogan
show at Air New Zealand Fashion Week in September. On sale from
October 1. Shown are the Karearea Wing pendant and the Miromiro
Feather bracelet.
|
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
/ 
