Inside AGMES: Timeless, Sculptural Jewelry Rooted in Legacy

When Morgan Lang conjures up inspiration for her designs, it’s often from dreams. The founder of AGMES—a New York City-based jewelry label known for its sculptural forms and silver chrome aesthetic—taps into her mind’s eye, where fluid shapes and architectural abstractions manifest. “I’m always designing pieces, whether in my head or physically. There isn’t a strict method, which is how I live my life. I let the universe guide me,” says Lang.

 

From jewelry market visits in her grandmother’s native Mexico to drawing from an inner creative force, Lang always felt the call to start AGMES. She launched the label in 2016 in what felt like kismet. Pre-AGMES, Lang would spend her weekends laboring on her early work. “I realized that as much as my body hurt, I was mentally so happy. I couldn’t sit back and pretend that it was a hobby anymore,” said Lang. The genesis of that early piece, the Bertrand Ring (as in Bertrand Goldberg, the architect behind Chicago’s Marina City), along with the encouragement from her best friend, Andrew, propelled her start.

And Andrew’s impact is deeply embedded throughout the brand. “AGMES is named after my friend, Andrew. He passed soon after, and I always wanted him to be a part of it. He’s the “AG-” and I’m the “-MES,” she said. “Anytime I look at anything—even our email addresses or brand messaging, I see him.”

 

Lang’s muse is self-guided, and her intuitive sensibilities inform the brand’s timelessness—she intentionally eschews seasonality, with each new collection fashioned to fold into her existing lineup, or the Classics. The Classic curation holds architectural cuffs, textural pendants, and more creations in sterling silver and gold—all locally handcrafted, designed with the wearer in mind. Naturally, Lang’s lineup encapsulates her personal, steadied approach on the art of dressing. “That’s where my love for jewelry stems from,” she said, an enduring quality reflected in her own wardrobe. “I had pieces that spoke to me because they reminded me of the memories that I shared with my grandma, and my mom, and my travels, and they spoke to me on a different level.”

 

This culminates in pieces forged to be grounded in specific scenarios—between daily routines or a sentimental milestone, the legacy jewelry tends to uphold, or, depending on one’s personal narrative, meant to be worn as sheathing. Astrid, the New York-inspired collection, is fashioned as armor, taking cues from the city’s paradoxically beautiful and gritty nature. “[The city] feeds me—it’s this really exciting energy that you’ll never know who you’ll meet or what you’ll discover right outside your door…All comes back to what inspires me.”

 

When it comes to artistry, there’s much fascination behind the process. Lang’s designs are typically conceived in her imagination, followed by the task of bringing them all into the 3D—whether it be through her typical mediums of sketching, sculpting, or clay. “It’s always a different evolution from seeing something in your mind to creating it in real life. It may not be where the thought started, but that’s how I allow the universe and how I allow my internal guide to go.” The pieces, by design, are tangible manifestations of her meditative process, found in their undulating curves and surrealist motifs.

 

Lately, she’s been introspective. Lang is coming up on a decade of the brand, which is marked by a new sunny office in Tribeca ornamented with all the design touches one can imagine. It’s moments like these that give rise to reflection—and perhaps what drew her to the elements of nature for AGMES’ upcoming collection, launching this June.

The act of wearing jewelry is grounds for meditation, after all. Among her daily rotation is her father’s ring, which she recently updated with her post-nuptial initials, as well as the Synergy ring, which serves as an emblem of self-love. “The ritual of getting dressed is how I begin my day and sign off. As I get dressed with each piece, I ask, do I want strength from this? Do I want to invoke Andrew?” Each day introduces a new piece, a new energy that holds time and place.

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Browse their entire collection through their online website and stay up-to-date with launches via Instagram.