LONDON, United Kingdom — With a background in fashion styling and make-up artistry, Nina Rai used her passion for everything beautiful to become a self-taught milliner pursuing her fascination with adornment and millinery. For her first Crystal Tiara headpieces’s collection, she took inspiration from the sophisticated and glamorous 1920’s to create wearable pieces of Haute Couture artwork. Each slide is designed to sit beautifully on the head, showcasing her attention to detail for gently aged pieces which can be worn to a vast range of occasions and events.
The Story
Nina Rai is a creative talent striving to perfect her vision. Vogue recently described her as “a particular type of talent, rare and intuitive, a visionary in the art of making the most impossibly beautiful pieces that stand out in style.”
Nina comments on her work: “I have spent my life creating in all areas of design, experimenting and acquiring different techniques from different mediums including make-up artistry and styling. With this vast repertoire of skills I now implement all the gained knowledge on many levels into creating what I believe to be refined artful pieces of Head Jewellery.”
As a designer I work purely on intuition and therefore tend to create timeless pieces that hold their own rather than seasonal collections.
Her priorities for the future include carrying on challenging herself in creating exceptional timeless art pieces in the world of Millinery.
The Design
The Nina Rai Couture Collections are formed by a distinct range of classic Tiaras, elegant Feathered Head Pieces and stylish Crystal Slides. Every piece is created taking into consideration minimalist details perfectly combined with skilful craftsmanship and fine artistry that is unique to Nina.
“I feel the core of all the work I create, the real driving force is beauty, sophistication and timeless elegance. With each creation I strive to achieve a perfect balance in the designs to create stylish and unique pieces,” Nina comments.
The Couture Hats
The pieces are created in Rhodium Plated settings with Silver, Gold or Hematite and adorned with Austrian Swarovski and Glass Crystals through the use of traditional silversmith techniques featuring a signature finishing that gives authenticity to each design.
As Nina explains: “The manufacturing process is a time consuming one. To ensure a right fit and sit of the designs the metal bases are carefully beaten with a special silversmiths hammer to create the right shaping. The crystals are then individually applied and can take a considerable amount of time depending on the size of the piece.” Nina continues: “… with the Head Pieces, the feathers are very carefully ironed to create the right fall and shaping; again this technique is quite consuming, but it is this meticulous attention to detail that I feel makes the design so special.”
The collection comes in a select colour palette of Champagne Topaz and Smoky Quartz, Black and Greys, and Classic Clear Crystal.
And for the time of the year when glitter and festivities prevail, Nina suggests: “I feel the Crystal Slide collections are ideal, they can be worn in a variety of ways and styles so the wearer has real choice to adapt the piece to their personal style.”
Personally I find that classic simplicity always works well – a simple plain dress worn with a Slide or Head Piece really sets the whole look off. This stylish accessorising is a perfect way to add a touch of sophisticated glamour and sparkle to the festive season. All Nina Rai designs are made to order and presented in a tailored Black Box.
