Editor’s Note
This week, we spotlight jewelry designer Maria Tash, a pioneer of New York piercing, as she opens her first Parisian pop-up. Discover how she has redefined the art of adornment, bringing an elegant and captivating aesthetic to multiple piercings.
On the occasion of the “So Punk” exhibition at Le Bon Marché in Paris, jewelry designer Maria Tash is opening her first pop-up store. This is an opportunity to discover this pioneer of New York piercing.
With light eyes, jet-black hair, and a retro-punk pin-up look featuring two biomechanical cuff-style tattoos on her forearms, Maria Tash is as captivating as her creations. This New Yorker, originally from Long Island, has achieved the remarkable feat of making multiple piercings elegant and trendy. Parisian fashion editors and other influencers, enjoying themselves in New York during Fashion Week, all slip away between shows to visit her boutique.
Some are so addicted to her jewelry that they have logged more than ten visits and as many holes in their ears… What immediately won over a trendy clientele, unaccustomed to traditional piercing salons, is this designer’s ability to conceive very delicate pieces to be placed in the most novel locations.
she explains in a salon at Le Bon Marché, the Parisian department store where she has just opened a pop-up.
Her latest innovation is a diamond placed as if suspended on the arm or torso thanks to a titanium foot that slides under the skin. She has adapted this model, originally developed in the piercing industry, to her delicate universe. The result is stunning; the very discreet stone appears to be simply resting on the epidermis. And all without discomfort for the wearer.
she confirms. For her, nothing is impossible; you just need to consider the right angles, “like in construction.”
This novel approach to thinking about jewelry in space, holistically, never detaching it from the body that wears it, owes much to her past as a piercing enthusiast with a passion for science and being the daughter of an engineer.
Marked by this tutelary figure, she went to study astronomy at King’s College London but skipped classes to participate in the punk movement. It was the 80s; she got her nostril pierced, then tattooed, and matched the color of her mohawk to her jewelry. It was a time of experimentation, which she continued upon returning to New York. She abandoned her science studies to set up on her own and began piercing a crowd of daring New Yorkers at her home. A memorable session?
she recalls with amusement.
The arrival of the 2000s marked the end of an epic era. Maria Tash no longer experiments; she develops her brand. If in the 90s, the entire Manhattan underground passed around her address under the table, she now has a storefront. Since 2016, she has been receiving clients in her boutique at 653 Broadway, one of the essential shopping arteries of the Big Apple. She also disseminates her business model worldwide through her locations where one can get pierced and buy her designs, in London, Dublin, Rome, Dubai, and now Paris. A step she rejoices in and which allows her to gauge the French market before launching her next, and inevitably surprising, piece of jewelry at the end of the year.