So-Le Studio Brings Upscale Upcycling To Paris Temple Of Luxury

Maria Sole Ferragamo is showing me the detail of one of her necklaces. At first glance, the intricately laser-cut, shimmering white material appears to be thin textured metal; a matching cuff looks like body armor, and the designer’s oversized green metallic hoops convey power and confidence. On closer inspection however, the architectural collar is supple metallic leather, which shifts and opens with the body, the cuff is a soft cocoon for the wrist, and the earrings — leather shaped over brass — are virtually weightless. “I like giving materials characteristics they wouldn’t otherwise have had,” explains Maria Sole when I remark on the lightness of her jewelry. “My structures are like little architecture for the body.”

We are in Paris, at Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, the city’s oldest luxury department store, which is currently hosting SO-LE STUDIO alongside the hit Mise en Page exhibition (a term referring to the layout of a page in publishing) around books and reading, curated by the co-founder of the iconic Paris concept store Colette, Sarah Andelman. A selection of Maria Sole’s greatest hits is presented on minimalist magnetic stands, in a circular display based on stretched fabric that appears solid, mirroring the illusion and lightness of her jewelry. The presentation was designed by Fondamenta, the same Milan agency that was behind her flagship in the city.

The project came about when Le Bon Marché’s style director visited the store in Milan’s Portrait hotel, and loved it so much she invited the brand to create a similar space as a pop-up. “The boutique was designed as an immersive retail experience, I commissioned Fondamenta to reflect our guiding principles of distortion, tension and illusion as closely as possible [in the pop-up design]. They did a great job recreating the same feel, playing with fabric and mirrors to create a sense of illusion,” explains Maria Sole.

SO-LE STUDIO’s unique jewelry “sits at the crossroads of design, fashion, jewelry and architecture,” and in a saturated market, is fresh and instantly recognizable, appealing to a dynamic, independent and cultivated target with easy, elevated style. But most importantly, at the heart of the brand, is sustainable design.

The granddaughter of Italian shoe designer Salvatore Ferragamo, she was “born into a family where craftsmanship and finding beauty in the unexpected is taught at a young age. Like all the kids in my family, I interned in the manufacture and learned to love leather as a living material.” The Ferragamo workshop was also where she became aware of how much leather was discarded during the production process and the seeds for SO-LE STUDIO were sown.

In repurposing luxury materials, Maria Sole Ferragamo’s sculptural art jewelry explores notions of preciousness and questions the very nature of luxury. The Trame collection, presented by Elisabetta Cipriani Gallery at PAD London in October 2023; was an exploration of rich texture in simple forms, hand-woven in brass and leather by Maria Sole herself and finished with enamel. Inspired by the principles of the Arte Povera movement, it was a meditation on sustainability and luxury.

“I come from a generation where sustainability is a given,” says the 34-year-old designer, who believes everyone’s contribution to sustainable living, however small, is significant for long-term change. Designed in Milan, her body adornment is crafted in Tuscan workshops from leather offcuts, deadstock, and brass shavings from the factory floor. She typically chooses leather that already has a metallic finish, but also works with manufacturers to create new effects, like a micro-crystal finish that sparkles like diamond pavé, made using micro-embossed aluminum foil on a thermoplastic layer over the leather’s surface, then digitally printed with vibrant color.

The Paris pop-up marks the brand’s first retail activation outside of Italy, and a step into international markets after sustained domestic success since the brand was born in 2019. As part of the Mise en Page installation, each exhibitor was asked to choose an inspiring author. Maria Sole chose Marina Abramovic’s autobiography, as a “strong and inspiring woman, a trailblazer devoted to her artistic calling. For her, ‘the process is more important than the result,' and that’s also how I envision my creative path.” I have the sense that SO-LE STUDIO is drive by passion rooted in a creative heritage: “this is a labor of love,” she agrees. “And that’s what drives me every day”