Born and raised in Athens to a Greek father and a French mother, London-based designer Melanie Georgacopoulos’ passion for jewellery flows from her early experiences and international background; as a young girl being taken around museums she marvelled at the timelessness of ancient greek jewellery.
Melanie’s childhood influences would soon turn into ideas about how to redefine culturally invested symbols of power and wealth through jewellery design itself. She gained solid silversmithing technique foundations at the Mokume Institute in Athens. In her subsequent studies at Edinburgh College of Art (Sculpture) and later at the RCA (Masters in jewellery), her combined passions for multi dimensional form, metal and the pearl found a unique voice, engaging directly with sculpture, architecture and fashion.
In London, Melanie first started designing for small companies as well as internationally renown brands, before giving first expression to her now trademark concept: challenging ideas about classic pearl jewellery. Here she set to capture the elemental quality of the only organic precious stone and to reinvest it with modern meanings far removed from tradition. Since then she has been exploring the endless aesthetic possibilities that the pearl can provide as jewellery. Her work constantly defies convention, bringing the pearl to the domains of art and high fashion, whilst retaining its quality as a wearable accessory.
Melanie set up her own company in 2010. Since then her pieces have been featured in fashion press worldwide and sold by selected stockists. She continues to develop her original concept in her main M/G line alongside high profile international collaborations. In 2012 she began working with the world renowned fine Japanese jeweller Tasaki and more recently she has been pushing design boundaries to further acclaim, adding diamonds to the pearls of her M/G Couture repertoire.