His Ashanti creations in gold for Reine Poukou catapulted Micka%l Kra from New York - where he had graduated from the Parsons School of Design - to a breakthrough on the Paris fashion scene. He was soon much in demand as a designer for such doyens of haute couture as Yves Saint Laurent, Louis F,raud, Pierre Balmain, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Ren, Mancini, Alphadi and Katoucha. Kra is today one of the most important jewellery designers worldwide. In his personal haute couture collections, Kra works with the contrast between the sensuous quality of silver, melted glass, bauxite and terracotta and the beauty of the human skin. Sumptuous creations evocative of luxury, exoticism and eroticism emerge in the charged field between Parisian glamour and African tradition. Kra (whose father is African and his mother French) has recently been working on a collection called Pearls of the Kalahari (ostrich-egg shells, glass beads, semi-precious stones and leather). The ravishing result is luxurious neck, arm and he