Vanitas

Vanity is such a layered concept, historically being seen as a sin, yet it’s deeply tied to self-worth. What drew you to explore it through this collection and why now?

Rosh Mahtani: I was designing this collection last September, and we were in our 10th year of Alighieri. And I really had to interrogate myself about what I was going through at that moment in my life. At the time I was thinking a lot about my journey over the last 10 years and I think I've always been a bit of a people pleaser in my life. I wear my heart on my sleeve. I'm a dog person and I love that openness and that warmth and boundary-less love. But all summer, I kept on encountering these cats. And what shocked me is that I was fascinated by them. I've never been a cat person, because I like needy animals. But actually, they're quite amazing. The way they just move and slide and are confident and they do their own thing. It started as a bit of a humorous thing. I said to a lot of my friends in my life and my mom, “I think I'm gonna be more like a cat going forward.” And all my friends are like, “No, you're a puppy. You can try, but you're a puppy.” But it made me think, what can I incorporate in my life going forward, in my mid 30s and as we're turning 10 years old as a brand. Maybe it's okay for me to try and learn to be a bit more cat-like. It's just sliding to the beat of your own drum a little bit. And then I remembered that one of my favourite films growing up was Aristocats. And I re-watched it, and I was looking at Chris Marker's work, one of my favourite filmmakers. In his photography, he was obsessed with cats. Then I realised one of the first pieces we made was the Leone medallion, which was for strength and courage. And the lion is technically part of the cat family. And so it was an invitation to myself to try and not be embarrassed. The pursuit of confidence and trying to toe the line of being confident and feeling worthy without being arrogant, which is something I think we're often taught as kids, especially as women. 

Cats appear throughout Vanitas, not just as inspiration but as talismans, through the cat’s tooth, the ball of yarn, and the feline trio pieces. How did you decide which details to turn into jewellery? 

Rosh Mahtani: I'm always really instinctive when I design. So I don't necessarily sit down and think, Okay, I want to do a comb. I want to do more. I find shapes, I see things, and it all comes together in a kind of patchwork way. It's like a journey. It's almost like an animalistic journey in some ways. Like a cat walking through the streets at night and finding things, and thinking, okay, I'm attracted to that, or I want to play with that. It started with the comb, and then it kind of evolved from there. And I think, why don't we do a little ball of yarn, or why don't we do knots and necklaces that feel like something that an animal would have created. It's quite a spiritual process.

Confidence and curiosity, two qualities embodied by the cat, are central to this collection. How do you each cultivate those in your own lives and careers?

Sophie-Rose Harper: In my line of work, my whole thing is to get the body to move, and to have someone come in a certain way and then leave feeling completely differently. I think for me to be able to give that to the person that's in front of me, I have to be sure. In what I'm saying, what I'm asking you to do, and how I want you to feel. So the job itself has made me have to be confident otherwise you're not going to believe what I'm saying. I think that confidence was not a feeling I had at the beginning. It's definitely something that's come with time in the way that Rosh was just talking about. I'm six years in, and now I'm really certain, and that confidence has grown and grown and grown. But I guess I can relate to curiosity in that way. I will sit with someone for an hour, and I'm so curious to know about who they are, what they do, how they feel, and all those things will be covered in that hour that I'm with them. So I can really relate to curiosity and confidence within the same moment. And I guess I have that with Rosh. I got to know her very quickly, because she gave me so much, and I hope that I gave her confidence in that time, because she definitely gave me confidence, and we definitely share that.

Sophie-Rose, you became part of Vanitas so organically, from training with Rosh to being the face of the campaign. How did it feel to step into this visual world and embody the collection?

Sophie-Rose Harper: Rosh did not tell me what to expect in any way. I had no idea the extent of what it would be when I got there. Rosh works with a lot of women, which immediately made me feel incredibly comfortable. And then you've got the cat trainer in the corner with the cat, all this amazing jewellery, this incredible makeup artist and stylist who had archive Alaïa, just incredible clothes. Honestly, I was going to bring my leggings! It was absolutely the most collaborative, beautiful thing between all these wonderful women in front of me, sharing ideas of how to stage it and it was the most enjoyable day. Seeing Rosh in the way that she shoots. It's very free flowing. Everything is on film, which is incredibly risky. But my God, they came out so well. I just kept looking at you Rosh and I would just take pictures, because I was like you're so fucking cool. I mean, this is just a thing that you do, and it just so happens that this is also your brand, and you're also the designer. It was an amazing day, and it just makes me feel very proud to be a part of it.

Rosh Mahtani: I really do admire you Sophie because you've given me the gift of feeling strength. And I think it's interesting what you're saying about curiosity. I love that you're so curious. You ask so many beautiful, meaningful questions when we're working together or during our pilates sessions. We've always been taught as kids don't be too sure of yourself. Be humble. Be quiet. But actually, maybe the true beauty of this kind of confidence is when it's paired with curiosity.

Sophie-Rose, movement plays such a big role in your life. Do you see a connection between the way we move and the way we wear jewelry? Was there any particular pieces which made you move differently when wearing them

Sophie-Rose Harper: The piece that gave me that like, Oh, wow. I was feeling so good in this, was the choker, the ball of curiosity. I'm obsessed with it. It just immediately made me feel seriously powerful. I don't know what it is, but it's so incredibly beautiful and wearing that I could be very free flowing in the movement.

The idea of self-care, both physical and emotional, is woven into this collection. How do you both personally make time for that in your daily lives?

Rosh Mahtani: This was also part of this collection, because I was really wanting to put that out there for myself, almost as a challenge to say, it's okay to take some time out. It actually started with Sophie's classes, Sophie would text me her available slots, and sometimes it would be 3pm. Five years ago you would not have caught me dead at a Pilates class at 3pm in the afternoon on a work day. It's that thing of still feeling guilty for taking that time for yourself. I feel like we're constantly making sure everyone's happy, making sure you're doing good at your job, you're making time for your friends, relationships. And I think there's still that part of me sometimes that feels guilty for taking back an hour to do something for me. But I'm really trying to challenge that, because it makes such a difference to me mentally.

Sophie-Rose Harper: If I have worked 40 hours that week, and I don't have my weekend for me, I feel annoyed. I've just given 40 hours to everyone else. So I have to, otherwise I resent my job. So I'm really on it during the weekends. I will barely leave my house. I'm really on that flex. I'm really obsessed with skincare and obviously, sleep is imperative. I'm up very early. I work very late. Those things are really important. I think it’s also about energising conversations. I'm pretty good at boundaries. Like I know I'm not going to see that certain person, because the last time I saw them, they drained me. I'm a bit like that at the moment. It has to be energising. 

Rosh Mahtani: And a cat, if they don't want to be in a situation, they would just walk away, right? And I think again, like, we still criticize, making ourselves guilty for doing that. It's like, why? This is our space, it’s our time and it’s being protective over oneself

Rosh, you mention growing up with messages like ‘don’t be cocky, be humble.’ Do you feel like Vanitas is a quiet rebellion against that?

Rosh Mahtani: I've been thinking about it this morning. I wish that it was a rebellion. And honestly, I just don't think I'm there yet. Vanitas is an invitation for me to try and be more honest about what I need in a situation, and feel confident enough to be able to do that. And within that, there's that playful element. We designed this logo that's quite playful. This journey, it's all a dialog, ultimately, right? It's like creating a knot, trying to get it right, and sometimes it works. It's constantly moving. We're playing. It's a cat's cradle all the time, what we're trying to do in life. We go, we try, and we're pulled in different directions, but we're all just trying to learn how to be more us with every day that goes by.

Shop the Vanitas collection here