FASHION Reporters
Charlottetown: Overman makes a clockpunk statement
Imagine if Jules Verne designed jewellery. Picture it and you’ll get the idea behind the beautiful, yet distinctly utilitarian necklaces, cufflinks, pendants, rings and ties clips created by Islander Matt Bowness.
This past November, inspired by his need to conceal tattoos at work, Bowness decided to make a set of cufflinks and soon after, he launched his own company, Overman. The metal jewellery is constructed of vintage clock parts, specifically, the tiny gears, crowns, and balance wheels of old hand and pocket watches
—a sort of fashion equivalent to clockpunk, a subgenre of steampunk (how steam-power obsessed Victorians might have envisioned the future). The result is a collection of pieces that look like they jumped from the pages of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. (And unlike the Industrial Age, the line is also environmentally friendly, recycling bits of brass and other metals that would have that would have ended up in the scrap heap.)
What’s next? There are plans to expand Overman and bring stained glass and copper into the designs. On April 25, the line will be part of an exhibition of fashion photography at the Confederation Centre Art Gallery. The jewellery can be found at The Green Man Vintage & Vinyl (48 University Ave., 902-566-1361) or online through the Overman Facebook page.
Photography by Brenda Chaisson
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These designs are quite amazing. I was at The Greenman today and spent twenty minutes looking at this display.
Keep it up.
As soon as I saw this stuff at the Green man I had to have a piece. That happens rarely for me so this was a big deal. Thanks for the gorgeous necklace!
I love his stuff. It’s so wonderfully intricate. My favorite are the robots!
I got a little sneak peak at some new pieces he has as I’m the lucky girl that gets to model them! I think everyone will like them, they’re really pretty and… mechanical.
… and Overman is totally a Nietzsche reference, which instantly kind of makes it awesome.
I am such a huge fan of Matt’s work! I’m glad to see this bit on him. His stuff awed me almost instantly. I want to be his apprentice!
Remind me to swing by The Green Man ASAP!
Hi,
I love your writing, it’s so readable. I also love this guy’s designs! Keep it up
This stuff is neat. The photos don’t really do the pieces justice. They are so original
I’m planning on treating myself to a silk ribboned robot necklace in the very near future. And the few rings he has in the collection drives me wild.
[...] for a lot of names on the Charlottetown scene–Senses salon, Talent PEI, Love Charlie, Overman, Sunsets on the Eastside, Kinza Mae Baker and The Green Man Vintage & Vinyl among them. [...]