Yaz Bukey
French fashion designer
Biography
It is now twenty years since Yaz Bukey sparked a revolution in the world of jewelry, starting a trend that could be termed as High Costume Jewelry. She gravitates towards plexi marquetry, spicing up the material as with objects in wood, ivory and mother-of-pearl of the Ottoman era, in a spirit of haute couture, high glamour, touched with surrealism. This Ottoman princess, descended from the Viceroy of Egypt, Méhémet Ali, and King Farouk, whose father was an ambassador and mother an Egyptologist, chooses Paris for her studies in graphic and industrial design.
She is drawn to fashion, she finishes her studies at Studio Berçot under Marie Rucki and from there goes to work for major names in design that are both atypical and eccentric : Martin Margiela, Alexander McQueen, Jeremy Scott, before devoting herself full time to accessories. She sees the latter as the signature of a style or an attitude : body positive, girl power, ultra creative, positively rebellious, with the launch of her own brand : Yazbukey.
She creates for Björk and was with her at her shows for over a year, then she teaches at Studio Berçot and works with Ladurée, Trudon, Lacoste, Diane Von Furstenberg, Shu Uemura, Princesse Tam-Tam…
Q&A with Yaz Bukey
WHY DID YOU ACCEPT THIS CARTE BLANCHE WITH FAÏENCERIE DE GIEN
FOR ITS BICENTENARY ?
to discover the Manufacture, techniques, to travel back through time, to exchange and work on our the subject we have in common : decoration.
WHAT INSPIRATIONS HAVE YOU DRAWN ON FOR THIS VENTURE ?
As the subject was to celebrate Gien’s 200th anniversary, I wanted to pay
tribute to the people who worked, and continue to work, at the Manufacture. I was lucky enough to visit and spend a while with the Gien family, my inspiration stemmed from this visit, from the range of colors I saw, techniques, craftsmanship, materials. For me, this is not only a tribute to the Manufacture but also to its dedicated teams over two centuries.
HOW DID YOU APPROACH THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE OF EARTHENWARE AND FAÏENCERIE KNOW-HOW ?
As with every technique, at first glance it looks easy, but … not so ! There are so many different stages in the creation of a piece of Gien ! It demands patience, dexterity, intuition, love of one’s craft, breathing and letting things
go.
WHILST YOU WERE WORKING ON THIS CARTE BLANCHE, HOW DID THE WORLD OF DECORATION AND TABLEWARE RESONATE WITH YOUR OWN
WORLD ?
I love to tell a story through my collections. Luxury tableware lends itself particularly well to this. A pattern design can be interpreted in different ways and carry underlying messages.
WHAT HAS STAYED WITH YOU THE MOST, OF THIS EXPERIENCE ?
The discovery of an ancestral technique that forms part of France’s heritage, a devoted team, and the warmth of the firing kilns !
