Antelope horns, fanged jaws, shark teeth, and manta rays—all cast in brass and dipped in various hues of gold—are the centerpieces of Dominic Jones’ Spring ’14 collection. Now in his ninth season, the 28-year-old designer, who counts the likes of Beyoncé and Rihanna among his fans, was inspired by natural forms and evolution within nature. And while the London-based talent’s ability to constantly push his futuristic-meets-organic aesthetic forward is largely what editors and top-tier retailers (like Barneys, Net-a-Porter, and 10 Corso Como, among many others) find so appealing, his Spring lineup grew out of the past. In fact, it is a reimagining of his Fall ‘10 offering (his second ever), which he’s elevated by applying the technical skills he’s acquired over the years.
Jones is a hands-on kind of guy. “I design as I go. My brain works more traditionally, and I very much like my technique of working with my fingers, saws, and files,” he explained. But one of the “new skills” he utilizes for Spring is 3-D printing. For instance, he created his deadly but seductive ram’s-horn-shaped choker with a hand-carved mold, but he used 3-D printing to shrink it down and pop out frames for identical rings and bracelets. “3-D design can feel a bit soulless,” Jones said. “The products are often really interesting and intricate, but they lose the warmth you see in handmade pieces.” His 3-D printed baubles, however, are all finished by Jones himself rather than a machine. As he puts it, “It’s the best of both worlds. And it’s already triggered my brain into new ways of approaching design. It’s like finding a new door in your house that you’ve never walked through.”
In addition to standout accessories, Jones has a history of producing moody collection imagery featuring high-profile faces. In the past, his pals Florence Welch, Cara Delevingne, Alice Dellal, and Downton Abbey‘s Jessica Brown Findlay (i.e., Lady Sybil) have all starred in his lookbooks and films. “I feel like each season, I find a person naturally that fits the collection,” Jones told Style.com. “And normally, it’s just the person I’ve had the most fun with over the summer.” This time around, that girl is Adwoa Aboah—a model and lady-about-town who Jones met through Delevingne. “The collection has this naughty edge, but it’s still really strong and sophisticated, so I needed someone with a real personality to wear it—I didn’t just want some cute model,” he said. Take a peek at the Alex Sainsbury-lensed lookbook images, which debut here, exclusively on Style.com.
