Punk AF: In Conversation with Hannah Martin

A n anarchic clash of rebelliousness, a punk AF attitude, and opulent beauty are the defining characteristic of Hannah Martin, whose first collection, It’s Only Rock 'n Roll, in 2005, was described by Martin as “jewels for men that girlfriends would want to steal.” Blending post-punk influences with high jewellery skills, two decades later Martin’s bold vision of sculptural androgyny continues to shake up the world of fine jewellery.

“What ties my clients together is a kind of lust for life,” muses Martin, dialing in from her studio at the heart of Clerkenwell, London’s creative quarter. “I always want my pieces to make you feel something, whatever that may be, to give you a bit of a thrill of excitement, to wake up your senses in some way. So I guess I hope people will get something from it, whatever that is for them, whether it’s calm and peace, whether it’s excitement.”

It is a philosophy that has captivated people from many different walks of life, “rock stars to accountants,” smiles Martin, and earned her a celebrity following including Keith Richards, Patti Smith, Madonna, Rihanna, Zaha Hadid and Olivier Rousteing.

Martin’s A Vanitas collection – the centrepiece of her showcase at Sotheby’s – was created in collaboration with the cult fashion label APPLIED ART FORMS, the brainchild of Coldplay’s bassist Guy Berryman. The unlikely duo met on a flight from Los Angeles to London. Martin, on her way back home from a trunk show, spotted one of her earliest earring creations on Berryman – a hoop studded with inverted sapphires, which Berryman had worn for some 16 years without removing. “I had no idea who Guy was," laughed Martin. “It’s really one of those moments when you’re like, the universe just made that happen, and we both were like, we have to do something having met like that because it would be crazy not to.”

“We were just having loads of conversations about life being short and the world being what it is and what we want to do. It’s reminding people to just make the most of life every day.”

- Hannah Martin on A Vanitas

Hannah Martin and Guy Berryman. Photo by Stewart Baxter.

Hannah Martin, Studded Hoop Sapphire Earrings — Hannah Martin's Studded Hoop Sapphire Earrings that serendipitously brought Hannah and Guy together.

The pair bonded over in-depth discussions about life, making things, and Guy’s passion for building cars (Berryman originally studied mechanical engineering at University College London, where he met the other members of Coldplay). Their collaboration moved to the next level after Berryman moved to Amsterdam with his family and whilst looking at Dutch Old Masters paintings discovered the vanitas tradition, a 17th century Dutch genre that urged viewers to seize the day. Berryman’s utilitarian design aesthetic and Martin’s predilection for punk found common ground. Delicate hand-carved pearl skulls, 18-carat gold hospital wristbands, dog tags and razor blades capture the “live for moment” message of the A Vanitas collection, with its a heart-stopping play of strength and fragility. The Hong Kong showcase will also include the launch of A Vanitas Stoned, a new collection comprising four A Vanitas pieces reintroduced with the addition of sapphires, in honour of the sapphire earring that brought Martin and Berryman together.

“It is a love letter to love and heartbreak. A love letter to experiencing the full spectrum of life. A love letter to what it means to be alive. I choose to live in feeling. To live in the furthest depths of my emotions. I want to feel everything. Because I want to feel alive.”

- Hannah Martin on The Perfect Drug

Named after a Nine Inch Nails song, Martin’s tenth and most recent collection The Perfect Drug was launched at the end of 2024. Inspired by Man Ray’s Surrealist photographs, Constantin Brancusi’s organic sculptures, Tom of Finland’s queer erotica and the photography of Robert Mapplethorpe, prosaic everyday fixtures are combined with supple skeins of chainmail that drape “like silk” across the skin. “Like someone’s sort of stroking you,” describes Martin, who can usually be found wearing one of her chainmail wristbands. “It was a very, very intense development,” Martin says of her and her team’s quest to master the chainmail technique. “At some point, we didn’t think we were going to be able to do it, but we managed it.”

Martin’s showcase at Sotheby’s will officially launch on 10 April, in the midst of Coldplay’s highly anticipated Hong Kong leg of its “Music of the Spheres” world tour. Her excitement to be in Hong Kong again, where she will reunite with Berryman, is palpable. “One of my favourite things to do after designing is actually seeing people interact with the work that I make and it’s such a thrill seeing people from all over the world and all these different walks of life wear it,” enthuses Martin.

It is a busy year ahead for Martin, with the second part of The Perfect Drug launching in September. The year will also see the publication of a book commemorating the 20th anniversary of Hannah Martin Jewellery. Cerebral, anarchic, sensual – Hannah Martin Jewellery embodies not only the here and now, but the future of jewellery design.