Visiting the shop of Monica Castiglioni was a real crowd pleaser. Not only was I eager because her father’s studio was so great, but we had seen one of her rings on our guide the week before and it was really something special. Walking in, I knew this was not like any other jewelry store I had ever been inside. The designer and the little girl in me were both in awe as I looked into case after case of rings, earrings and necklaces. Each piece was funky yet stunning and possessed a whole lot of character.
One aspect I love about her work is the artistry. Something we talked about the first week in Milan was that Italian designers love combining design with other things, such as art or architecture: making it so they are not mutually exclusive. Monica’s jewelry is art and design in one. Every necklace, every ring is tended to carefully as if it were its own little sculpture. She is also very conscious of the materials she uses. The jewelry we saw were made of either bronze, felt or were 3D printed. She is very particular about her materials and that’s what makes her body of work so cohesive and so compelling.
