All that glimmers

Selina Denman , February 23rd, 2009

It reads like the plot of an enjoyable, if somewhat unlikely, Hollywood movie. Buenos Aires-born boy leaves home at 17. Falls into fashion. Travels the world as a Calvin Klein model. Creates his first necklace from a handful of pearls.

Necklace gets spotted by a fashion editor at Australian Vogue. Star is born. Designs pieces for some of the biggest names in fashion. Brushes shoulders with every celebrity worth brushing shoulders with. Expands empire to include interiors. The end.

So goes the story, so far, of Rodrigo Otazu. The Argentinian designer rose to fame creating eye-catching accessories for fashion stalwarts such as Clements Ribeiro, Ungaro, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Viktor & Rolf. In 2003 and 2004, he was commissioned by one of his own design heroes, Christian Lacroix, to create tailor-made pieces for Lacroix’s haute couture fashion shows.

In a further addendum to the fairytale plot, some of the world’s most beautiful women, from Kylie Minogue and Aretha Franklin to Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles and Lauren Hill, have swathed themselves in his creations.

Otazu, who cites Stevie Wonder, the Neptunes and his mother as sources of inspiration, views design as a purely instinctual process. “I am self taught and have a very personal style. For me, design is about a feeling inside of me,
a sensation that you want to share,” he maintains.

He offers four seasonal prêt-a-porter collections, a classic collection, a sterling silver collection, a limited collection and a haute couture collection – and his product lines are currently sold in 20 countries around the globe. However, not content with taking the fashion world by storm, Otazu is now trying his hand at interiors, with one of his first projects taking shape very close to home. A spectacular club within Dubai’s Jumeirah Beach Hotel will be one of the first spaces to bear the Otazu name when it opens later this year. 



No stranger to the region, Otazu was in Dubai during Index promoting his most recent collaboration with Crystallized – Swarovski Elements. An Otazu-designed Crystallized Bar made from glass crystal mesh inlays formed the centerpiece of the Crystallized – Swarovski Elements booth.

CID caught up with the feted designer to learn more about his instinctual style, interior ambitions and unashamed love of the spectacular.

Tell us about your career so far.

I left home when I was seventeen with nothing but a suitcase full of dreams. I started travelling around the world and then entered the fashion industry purely by coincidence.

In 1997, I settled in Europe and started my own company. I developed a collection of jewellery and then started designing special pieces for people like Christian Lacroix, Viktor & Rolf and Jean Paul Gaultier. The next step was designing pieces for video clips so I started working with people like Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Destiny’s Child. I’ve worked with all sorts of celebrities.

It is all about making something that is spectacular and fabulous and new and avant garde. It is all about being different. I think that, today, people are looking for something that is both different and refreshing.

That brought me to the next step, which was interiors. My first project is here in Dubai and is going to open next year in Jumeirah Beach Hotel. There is a club there called Home, which is going to be redesigned and renamed Angel.

It is going to be one of the most spectacular places in Dubai, featuring avant garde technology and cutting edge design. It is going to be very over-the-top; something that has never been seen before.

What kind of a design brief did Jumeirah give you?

None. They said the sky is the limit – just make sure that it is spectacular. That’s all.

Where there any challenges involved?

I wanted to create something for everybody. A place where people could experiment and see something new. The theme I had in my head was to make it ‘the place to be’. That was the key issue for me when I was doing the design.

When you go to Paris, you go to the Eiffel Tower; when you go to New York, you go to the Statue of Liberty or Studio 54. What do you have in Dubai? The Burj Al Arab is one place that you have to see and have to take a picture of. This club will be another such landmark. That was the main idea in my head when I started working on the club.

Did you enjoy working in Dubai?

I always like to be able to find new and improved designs that break the rules. Dubai is the perfect place to do this – it’s a place where you can make dreams come true through design. Dubai is the future. It’s not even halfway to being what it can be. I believe that in Dubai there are still so many things to be done... so bring it on!

What spaces have you seen in Dubai that offer the ‘wow’ factor that you so often talk about?

I’ve stayed at The Address, Downtown Burj Dubai and I think that definitely has the wow factor – I think it is beautiful. The Burj Al Arab is not really my taste but is a very inspiring place, globally. It has been a real inspiration in some of the work that I am currently busy with. I want to take some of those elements and introduce them back to the world in more modern forms.

How comfortably did you make the transition from jewellery to interiors and how easy was it?

Actually, it was very simple. Beautiful things are beautiful things. It is a matter of having taste. Being able to choose beautiful pearls and beautiful stones and being able to choose the right shapes for cushions and chairs and tables is very much the same thing to me. And I really love it.

Do you have any other interior design projects in the pipeline?

I’ve designed a wine bar in Europe, which has actually already won an award for best design. I am also busy with a five-star hotel. The secret is to always embrace the drama of creating something different.

What drives you during the whole design process?

I want to be happy and I want to entertain myself. I want to be able to look in the mirror and be proud. I think perhaps a little bit of ultra ego is what drives me!



How did your partnership with the Swarovski brand come about?

Swarovski has been an extremely influential partner in my career because it has supported creativity, and everything that is different and new, since day one. Swarovski essentially gave me wings and allowed me to fly.

What do you have in common with Swarovski?

The drive to be different. And a love of the spark of life.

What recent projects have you worked on with the company?

I recently worked with Nadja Swarovski on Swarovski Runway Rocks, a very prestigious show in London where 16 of the best designers from around the world created specially-commissioned jewels for the catwalk.

What are your future plans?

I am now working on the launch of my diamond collection in New York, which should take place in September.

What will be the defining characteristic of this new collection?

Wow! The wow factor is the most pointed element in all my work.

What other words would you use to describe your creations?

I would say avant garde, different and unique. My creations are full of personality and their own sense of style... They are spectacular, and always something to be seen.