The brand
Delphine, tell us where you come from:
I was born in Paris in the 18th arrondissement, and I grew up there.
This neighborhood, and in particular Montmartre, then became my playground, the one that helped me stand on my own two feet after a simple and very happy childhood, spent with my mother and my grandparents, who are today the basis of my inspiration.
Where does this passion for jewelry come from?
When I was very young, I dreamed of being a stylist. I remember that in primary school I was already designing outfits for my mother. Then it was at Arts Déco in Paris that I learned to tame my creative impulses. In the accessories section, I had already created a jewelry bag in the shape of an iguana entirely embroidered with pearls. I always loved wearing extravagant clothes and jewelry, it was like deciding every day who you wanted to be.
After creating a costume jewelry brand like Hipanema, why launch yourself into the world of luxury? What were you missing? / What are you looking for new?
It is not the taste for luxury that leads me to create the Van Den Abeele house, but rather the search for meaning, for transmission.
Van Den Abeele is my husband's last name and also that of my daughters. And I wanted to dedicate my madness to them through pieces that will be passed down from generation to generation. And then jewelry puts to work this craft that has been so dear to me since my beginnings.
Curious by nature, I discovered with tremendous enthusiasm the world of jewelry where the magic of a piece full of brilliance rewards extraordinary and meticulous work. The work of gold and the clarity of precious stones combined with my colorful fantasy in this very classic environment, exalts me at every moment.
What do you want to bring to jewelry with this new brand?
I like to break codes and contrasts, to be free, not to follow but to set the tone, all this in color of course. I like the idea of shaking up the academicism of Parisian know-how with the uninhibited audacity of costume jewelry. For me, perfection lies between classic and eccentricity. It is therefore in this luxurious paradox that I bring together enamel and the colors of the sun.
Why did you choose your children's name and not yours to embody this new adventure?
My family today is the one I built, the one I chose. If I had chosen my birth name I would have turned to the past, but every day my curiosity pushes me to discover this future in which I like to lose myself and which my children so aptly embody. It was therefore essential for me to give this new adventure a perspective that will surpass me, at least I hope so. Miracles are created when we draw from the heart and draw strength from the love we have for others.
Your models have women's first names, can you tell us more?
My mother has always been a real creative force for me. She is an insatiable woman, always in search of perfection, but who marvels at everything with a childish enthusiasm. Today, I am a mother myself and I try, as much as possible, to follow this example. That of a fanciful spirit in search of perfection whether in my private life or in my creations.
Thus, Van Den Abeele naturally pays homage to the women of my family, who have always played a determining role for me: Stella, a celestial variation, full of brilliance which places at the heart of the jewel a sparkling fine stone, like a star. Marnie, like the youngest, intrepid and full of joy. The one that radiates colors, beauty through singularity.
