Meet Kate Cusack a Brooklyn based designer-costumer who creates jewelry pieces and sculptural work from unusual material. Unusual material you say? Yes, metal-tooth zippers and plastic wrap if you will.According to Kate herself, she makes costumes and wearable art. And that's just the term (wearable art) that can be employed to describe her line of Zipper Jewelry. It recently caught my eye on fellow blogger Choeny Wagma's blog, where i can safely say i was immediately taken by the sheer genius of her work. Made with a unique and contemporary design aesthetic Kate's pieces are truly one-of-a-kind.
Kate's zipper jewelry was first noticed in 2002, while she worked as a window-dresser, creating five Marie-Antoinette-style wigs made entirely from plastic wrap for Tiffany & Co.'s 5th Avenue store. The lady in the visual merchandising department who had hired Kate admired the zipper pin she'd affixed to her jacket so Kate made the second zipper pin as a thank you.Since 2003 she took to making jewelry like bracelets, necklaces, brooches and pins out of metal-tooth zippers.
She points out:
"It’s ironic that most fashion designers try to hide or disguise zippers in their creations. However, I love zippers’ shiny metal teeth and I want to show off, not hide, their sparkle and their sinuous flexibility."
These handmade pieces sell for between $70 -$400, with custom pieces going up to $1000.
Zipper jewelry can be bought at Kate Cusack's Etsy shop.
