All The Stars Are Closer: Mass Beverly X Swarovski

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Last week at MASS Beverly, one of LA’s leading design showrooms, Swarovski, the Austrian-based company known for its sparking lead crystal inventions, unveiled “The Brilliance of Design.”

The exhibition, curated by MASS Beverly’s co-founder Mary Ta, celebrates the company’s pioneering work across lighting, interiors, jewelry, objects, and design (including the stage of this past Sunday’s Oscar Awards ceremony, part of which is displayed in the showroom’s window). It includes the company’s CrystalPalace lighting; Swarovski Professional Architecture, Lighting and Interior Solutions which combine innovative LED lighting technology with the beauty of cut crystal; and Atelier Swarovski’s home décor and jewelry collections.

A panel exploring the options for using crystals in interior design kicked off the exhibit which will be on view at MASS Beverly through mid-May. “MASS Beverly brings our products to life,” says Nadja Swarovski. “it’s different than just going to a chandelier exhibition.” 

 

And why Los Angeles? “Well, Swarovski explains, “we’ve been a part of Hollywood from day one. We’ve been that sparkling ingredient from Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers in The Wizard of Oz, to the tiara Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s and, of course, the dress Marilyn Monroe wore when she sang ‘Happy Birthday Mr. President.’”

In the same way that Swarovski teamed up with cutting edge fashion designers like Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior to breathe new life into their products, they had also set their sights on reimagining what a crystal chandelier could be. One of their first forays into this realm, designer Tord Boontje’s Blossom, tore open the symmetrical model on which an elegant lighting fixture had always hung. Lyrical and romantic, it’s become a modern classic.

In addition to Boontje’s Blossom and his latest work Luminous Reflections, the pieces shown here also include ‘Mini Voyage’ by Yves Behar, ‘Glaciarium’ by Fredrikson Stallard and ‘Cascade’ by Vincent van Duysen, as well as sparkling fashion and jewelry pieces, like a vivid tiger patterned vest by the late Alexander McQueen, jewelry by Christian Dior as well as a selection of vases, candle holders, paper weights and tabletop accessories

Moving beyond fashion and lighting, architect Lars Hypko, Mary Ta’s partner and a leader in product development for the home market in Los Angeles, is excited about the possibilities for architectural application. Wood paneling, embedded with crystals and displayed just inside the showroom’s entryway offers one option but Hypko’s eager to probe the imaginations of young designers on his quest for innovation. “We’re holding a competition,” he shares, “open to designers and architects and actually any individual that has the desire to test their abilities with crystal. We’d like to see it in furniture, we like to see it on the walls. Really the sky’s the limit!” See here for contest details

MASS Beverly X Swarovski, 9000 Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.271.2172