Mary Grossman’s creativity is limitless. We’ve seen her accessories come in a number shapes and forms, from bags to jewelry to glasses. And if that isn’t enough, she’s just presented an incredible new footwear collection at the Shenkar School of Design (Israel).
She was born in Kazakhstan while it was still a soviet state before immigrating to Israel as a child with her family. As she says, “being a stranger in what seemed to me than a different world made me want to invent my own private worlds in which I was not a stranger but a creator.” Her love of creation led her to the world of design because of the ‘”opportunity to create intricate products that express a combination between spirit and matter.” For Mary, “Jewelry design cannot be separated from the human spirit, it began at the dawn of humanity.”
We like Mary Grossman’s work. It’s geometric, balanced, without unnecessary noise and it’s elegant. At So Catchy! Where Fashion Begins, we interviewed her recently to talk about her latest project, the footwear collection known as “250”.
SO CATCHY:! We have seen glasses, bag and shoes designed by you… what´s the next accessory you plan to deign?
MARY GROSSMAN: At the moment I’m working on my final project.
I’m focusing on creating an “outfit wear” which combines shoes, bags and jewelry .
SC!: Do you plan to create you own label anytime soon and sell online?
MG: As a young designer I see in technology a great opportunity to promote my own brand and to reach other people all over the world, so at the moment I’m working on my personal website that I can sell my products and not being limited in physical location.
SC!: Tell us about your last work: the shoes. Congratulation, they ´re really amazing
MG: My inspiration for the shoe project was a wonderful work of the great architects Dominique Perrault – Mariinsky II Theature. It’s an urban geometric building that consults the geography of Saint Petersburg golden globes. The process was unusual for the first time as students we had to deal with a professional shoe factory I can say that this experience increased my knowledge a lot. We have been asked to create collection out of 8 pear shoes, to illustrate them and to produce one pear, during the first meetings I was wondering which material is suitable for my project from all aspects, I decided to use matt surface leather, Sterling silver and high quality plastic, I decided to name this collection “250” it means Mary in Hebrew numerology.First of all I copied the shoe tree pattern like one does with a sewing pattern, I cut out the pattern and sewed it up. Next, I stretched it on the shoe tree so it will take its form. Then I took out the shoe tree and joined the pre ordered sole. The last stage of the work was connecting the metal pieces by pinning them in-between the inner and the outer leather layers.
SC!: Define your style as designer.
MG: Minimalist, geometric, well-crafted, sophisticated, handmade, precious metals, up to date.
SC!: Your impossible dream
I don’t believe in an impossible dream, because the first step of achieving them is dreams about them…
SC!: What´s your favorite accessory?
Shoes and rings, I think that these two elements improve my outfit.
SC!: You cannot live without…
My sketch book.
SC!: You can’t stop wearing….
My secondhand Levis 501 jeans
SC!: An accessories designer you admire.
SC!: Your main inspiration.
Geometric architecture.
SC!: In your opinion, what is the future of fashion accessories?
I can see that 3D printing and polymer materials will replace a lot of todays materials.
SC!: Websites, magazines or blogs you follow.
MG: Vogue, sShon, glamour, Cosmopolitan, Bijoux, Fashion World, Dezeen, Milkdesign, Designboom, le Manoosh.
SC!: An Instagram account you like.
Carolin Holzhuber (Check out her interview with So Catchy!).
SC!: A Fashion designer you admire
All images courtesy of Mary Grossman
Translation and layout by Michael Padilla
