With only one day left before the big night, Acne Studio thought it was time to catch up with Husam El Odeh on his latest dreams, obsessions, and, most importantly, his special edition t-shirt for Acne studio Fashion’s Night Out, pictured here!

Jordan Robin: You started as a painter and transitioned to jewelry design upon moving from Berlin to London. What inspired this change?
Husam El Odeh: I began as a fine artist, studying at the UDK in Berlin and in Chelsea, but I grew tired of the focus on yourself as a person when you are an artist. Jewelry was a perfect way to settle this. Like art, it is essentially useless, but feels like something useful because it has a function. I really like the fact that people wear my work on their body. It feels so much more immediate than a piece of art that usually only knows spectators. As a jewelry designer, my approach is very broad, but throughout my collections I am interested in the idea of the in-between or grey areas.

JR: How do you play with the use-value of objects, such as in the watch-vest that inspired this exclusive collaboration with Acne for Fashion's Night Out?

HEO: I seem to have an obsession with functional objects. It may seem absurd, but I am particularly interested when the function of these objects is removed. These lost objects seem to gain their own character, becoming something new. What is a watch that does not even show you the actual time? Uselessness, a forgotten virtue, fascinates me in the context of useless pretty things that all jewelry is in a way. The watch vest somehow became the resolution of broken, blank, and fake watches that have been popping up everywhere in my work over a number of seasons. It was based on a pattern for a runner’s vest. I guess part of me was almost curious if I could make an accumulation of random pieces behave like a garment: a piece of couture made by a jeweler.

JR: Do you wear a watch? If yes, what kind of watch is it and why do you like it?

HEO: I actually don’t wear a watch anymore, though for a while I wore a Casio and a silver Casio bangle simultaneously.



JR: Do you have a favorite way to spend time? What about a favorite way to waste time?

HEO: Hmm, a favorite way to spend time...maybe dreaming (as in when I am asleep). Daydreaming would be my favorite waste of time. I might change my mind on this at any moment, though. It all depends on the things I HAVE to do at the moment. I don’t always get the chance to daydream. 



JR: I read that your dreams are your favorite part of the day. Can you tell us about your most recent dream?

HEO: I had a quite stressful dream this morning, but it reinforced my feelings on something I was unsure about. It’s too personal to say, though, and I don’t want to invent one. 



JR: Who do you dream of one day meeting?

HEO: Karl Lagerfeld.



JR: What color would best describe your dreams?

HEO: Colorful greys.



JR: Is there a piece you dream about making? If so, what is it?

HEO: There is a new one every week. I usually make my dream pieces.


FILED UNDER: It Takes Two , Jordan Robin , Husam El Odeh , Fashion's Night Out , Acne Studio , OCNY