The word ‘eclectic’ is dreadfully overused in the fashion business. Celebrities use the word to describe their wardrobe (shorthand for “full of free stuff different designers send me”). Labels declare their collections to be so (aka “we’re selling blazers and dresses!”).
One woman who can justifiably use the word in relation to her work is jewellery designer Barbara Rabito. Many years of scavenging has given her a healthy cache of vintage trinkets and discarded tidbits which she effortlessly puts together to create her extraordinary necklaces.
Certainly, it’s possible to see the beauty in Art Nouveau buckles, ceramic plates, brooches, ornaments, computer processors and draw handles. Somehow Rabito combines a host of these disparate elements into what can only be described as one showstopping piece. Those individual elements suddenly become a collection of curiosities within the necklace.
Given the, erm, eclectic nature of each necklace, every design is a one-of-a-kind.
Rabito first appeared on HowBigIsYourEco last year and it’s a delight to hear that a new collection of pieces have just hit the shelves at Becker Minty in Sydney’s Potts Point or shop online here.
