Boys In Jewels part 9 - Kanye West

I had Kanye all to myself last week. Not that he knows it. I was at the Central Saint Martins private view, perusing the graduation portfolios when I looked up and there was the man himself engrossed in the next portfolio along.
In a typically British fashion I pretended I had no idea who he was while telepathically messaging him to look up and start a conversation. He never did and the moment passed. Gah.
Here he is in Paris for the menswear shows, shot by the talented Tommy Ton for style.com. He wasn't this blinged up when we 'met'. If he had been I might have been tempted to pipe up.


Photo: Tommy Ton

Boys In Jewels Part 8 - Thierry Mugler S/S12

These pix were posted an hour ago on Dazed Digital. When asked by journo David Hellqvist what he felt was the piece that sums up the collection, creative director Nicola Formichetti said: 'The gold medal with the Mugler logo - I think everyone should wear that one!'

Men, you have been told.





Photography by Yang Wang

Art At Annoushka

Want to know more? See more? Click here and go to Because site's Accessories News section. Check the 'If It Ain't Broke' post.

Excuse Excuses

I know, my bibelotphile attendance has been woeful recently and I feel genuinely bad. But as all neglectful students must, I have an excuse. Quite simply, there's not enough hours in the day to get everything done at the moment. But it's all for a good reason.

I was lucky enough to be appointed Jewellery Editor at becauselondon.com recently - just learning how to upload posts took a week of intensive training - and have been getting new business, aka Adorn Insight, aka jewellery trend analysis agency extraordinare off the ground. So far, so good.

Jewellery week looms, so a slower pace seems unlikely for the forseeable, but one should never grumble when one's life revolves around such loveliness. A case in point: my latest Lust-Have from Cartier.


In a former life (ie my early 20s) I was a geneticist - if I only I'd paid more attention in 'cloning class' I could brew up a few looky likies in the fridge and I'd be laughing. Or I'd get a lie in, at least...

Boys In Jewels part 7 - Slick Rick

Gotta love the soft voiced, London born rapper's defiance of the current vogue for minimalist accessorising.

Superfly

Designed in 1530 BC!!

Wouldn't look out of place on a catwalk today...


From the burial chamber of Egyptian Queen Ahhotep 1.

Walter's Willie

I've had this image filed as Walter Albini for ages. Now I can't recall if the famed Italian fashion designer was responsible for the jewellery, the display, or both. Whatever, it's certainly a novel approach to merchandising...

Taking The Miki

I spotted this Yaguruma sash clip on a recent trip to Basel and was struck by two things: the story and the workmanship.

First shown by Mikimoto at the 1937 World Exposition in Paris, the multifunctional piece of jewellery comprises 11 parts which can be assembled to create no fewer than 12 forms of adornment.

Yaguruma went AWOL after the expo and only re-surfaced in 1989 when it was bought by the Mikimoto Pearl Island Co. at an auction in New York. Today it lives in the Pearl Museum on Mikimoto Pearl Island.

Random Treats

Been meaning to write witty, insightful posts about each of these pix but I'm never gonna get round to that (busy, busy on exciting TBC projects) so here they are in a totally random post. Think of it as inspiration.

Dougal gets a Lasry makeover

Photo by Iwajla Klinker

From the Fred Leighton website

Island Life

In all my many trips to Ibiza over the years, I never saw anything like this and I'm gutted. But perhaps I was otherwise engaged. Ahem...


Turns out it's traditional for Balearic women to attend local dances sporting 'emprendada', or jewellery that has been passed down through the generations.

The pile-it-all-on approach to wearing jewellery has long been on of my favourite looks although til now I'd limited myself to a handful of rings, a pair of earrings and a couple of bangles for fear of appearing OTT.

Having chanced across this amazing photo I feel inspired to take things to the next level. Living, as I do, in bling-loving South London I predict no-one'll even bat an eyelid.

Photo: Carmen Redonodo, 2003. Taken from Jewellery by Jack Ogden

The Eyes Have It

I love museum shops. They're always full of odd trinkets that you'd never come across anywhere else: limited edition designer mugs and tea towels; fine art-inspired fridge magnets; erasers and pencils branded with famous quotes. A curious melting pot of highbrow and low.

But my favourite things – without a doubt – are the postcards, of which I have a huge collection. Tempting as it is to post the funny naughty-Japanese-cat-stealing-fish one I bought at the V&A on Friday, I won't. No jewellery, no admission.

But I did come across this fab (if slightly unsettling) image of a British brooch dated c. 1790-1810. Surrounded by juicy pearls is a miniature watercolour painted on ivory with tears made out of diamonds, no less. It immediately reminded me of the 'Eye' brooches and buttons on the Bottega Veneta AW 2011 catwalk.

Just goes to show, what goes around comes around, I guess.

Hanna Martin's New Collection

Last night saw me rubbing shoulders (and everything else) with London's coolest fash fans as we crammed into Dover Street Market to witness the unveiling of hot-right-now Hannah Martin's new jewellery collection, The Man Who Knows Everything.

Ramping the drama levels to the max Martin had teamed up with German designer/artist, Moritz Waldemayer, to create an installation which saw a bejewelled prism suspended in a black obelisk and surrounded by lazers which emitted noises when plucked. With a film by SHOWstudio playing in the background, and dry ice swirling through the darkness, it was quite the sci-fi experience.

Inspired by Le Comte de Saint Germain – an alchemist who apparently lived for 400 years – and a quote by the French philosopher, Voltaire, who claimed: 'The man who knows everything never dies', the installation also featured an augmented reality machine (magic box?) which let guests 'try on' the expensive jewels.

You'd never think from the crummy image below that I asked a man with his own very fancy camera to capture the moment my cardboard ring became a multi-thousand pound, limited edition masterpiece. Disappointing. You'll just have to imagine it.

Dolly Mixtures

Pulling heads of dollies is nothing new, but American jeweller, Margaux Lange, has turned it into an artform.

In her bid to examine pop culture's fascination with the iconic Barbie, Lange cuts up second-hand dolls (the fact that they have been pre-owned is important to Lange who is also interested in the notion of re-cycling mass produced items) and mounts their body parts in silver. The result is a range of surreal confections that comprise her Plastic Bodies Series.

And to those who preferred Ken, fret not. His bits'n'bobs get the chop too.






40 Giggles Bracelet
Polka Dot Eye Ring
Bubblegum Pop Necklace
hEarring Blossom
Winged Arm Neckpiece

Myths. And A Legend

Sophia Vari is a painter and sculptor whose miniature works of art double as fabulously architectural pieces of jewellery. A recently published book, Sophia Vari – Bijoux Sculptés, shows a selection of designs in close ups so tight they become abstracted. Not that that matters, it just means you get to pore over the detail with greater ease. Fashioned from ebony, gold, silver and blond wood, with the occasional rough gem providing vibrant pops of colour, the pieces – perhaps in homage to Vari’s Greek origins – are named after characters from Greek mythology: Aphrodite, Bacchus and Medea.

Pearls Of Wisdom

I’m not a huge fan of pearls but I do like these. Look closely and see how cleverly jeweller Melanie Georgacopoulos subverts some well worn classics.








From Top: Lace; Nucleus; Facetted; Fabric; Harlequin; Half Cut Necklace; Half Cut Earrings

Le Street, C’est Chic

London street style rules. Everybody knows that. Click here to read my musings for Adorn London on the capital’s jewellery looks during the recent AW2011 shows.


Photo: Juliet Hutton-Squire