29 Jun 2010 1 Comment
I am kind of obsessed with Carey Mulligan’s cover spread from this month’s Interview magazine. Grainy black and white photographs intermittently splashed with sheer paint splatters in neon pink and orange. I am loving the cotton striped sweater she wears in photo 2 and the sheer cropped long sleeve number in the last photo.
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28 Jun 2010 6 Comments
My accessories theme continues into this week with a post on one of my favorite jewelry designers: Justin Giunta, creator of Subversive by Justin Giunta and now Deviated by Justin Giunta.
I can’t exactly remember when my obsession with Justin Giunta’s work began. I am thinking sometime in the fall/winter of 2007, after his work began popping up in spreads in all of the fashion magazines.
Giunta’s aesthetic in his Subversive line spoke to me. First of all, it was statement jewelry before statement jewelry was trendy. And trendy or not, I will always be a lover of the statement necklace. I think I have been piling on the necklaces since birth.
Second, I always loved the “sunken-treasure” nature of his work:
Justin describes his signature Subversive piece as the “Sunken-treasure necklace…. It’s the formula for what we stand for as far as taking old things and putting them back together to make it look like you’ve sourced an entire jewelry box on your neck.”
And then there is the art historian in me who appreciates the comparisons that have been made between Giunta and Andy Warhol: that Giunta’s work has a certain anti-establishment quality. It is best described by Sara K. Eisen for the Gallery Atlantic: “Giunta’s baroque, highly-wrought pieces are meant to undermine the jewelry and fashion establishments, blurring distinctions between art and consumer culture, and between fine looking old things handpicked from the world’s rubble and the beautiful, new, and commercial chains that (literally) bind them. The raw materials are not intrinsically valuable. It’s the design.”
This description ties back to the name of his original line, Subversive. According to the dictionary, Subversion “refers to an attempt to overthrow structures of authority, including the state. It is an overturning or uprooting.”
The name Subversive implies a kind of jewelry revolution, “a mutiny against conventional definitions of what makes a piece priceless.”
Giunta: “In my work, I am always drawing parallels between art history and modern design to explore themes of accessible decadence and fine art…. The only difference between the two is where it is sold.”
Giunta was nominated for the CFDA for accessory design in 2008, but he lost to Philip Crangi. He was nominated again in 2009 and won.
In January of this year Giunta was named the Design Director of Jewelry at Tory Burch. His first line for her will be coming out later this year. I am interested to see how he will tailor his signature look to fit in with the Tory Burch preppy aesthetic.
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My very first piece of Justin Giunta jewelry was the Subversive necklace below. My mother actually found it for me on sale, just months before he was nominated for his first CFDA. We call it one of our greatest finds, as the price of his work went up exponentially after he was first nominated. It is very much indicative of the style of his original pieces.
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I just recently acquired my second Giunta piece (hence the inspiration for this post) and I am again in love. It is from Giunta’s latest line, Deviated by Justin Giunta, a lower priced version of Subversive (now that Subversive has gone considerably upscale). It has the “sunken treasure”, pretty, tangled mess aesthetic I am attracted to. Plus, it has pink rhinestones.
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“I think signature pieces will always last; they’re collectible, and people are likely to invest in jewelry. You can wear it with jeans, or you can wear it with a couture gown. And when people are engaged by an amazing piece of sparkle around your neck, they are going to love you.” – Justin Giunta
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25 Jun 2010 2 Comments
I have finally gotten caught up on some things and was able to check out the Resort 2011 womenswear presentations that took place last week in New York. Resort sometimes gets pushed under the rug in the fashion community for being the less-than-significant tweener season between Fall and Spring. But, it does continue to live on. Personally, I always liked the Resort collections as they always felt less serious and more fresh and fun as well as gave a hint at what was to come for Spring.
As for this year’s collections – the reviews are in and the critics have spoken, and I completely agree, Stella McCartney truly takes the cake this time around.
For her Resort collection show, Stella chose to forgo the traditional runway and instead put on a laid-back presentation at Gavin Brown’s Enterprise (a gallery-esque venue in the West Village) in NYC. A quartet played in the background and models danced their way down aisles. The presentation was then followed by a garden party on the roof where the models still wearing the clothes from the presentation hung out with the guests and drank cocktails and played chess. Almost like a real-life living fashion show. This concept showcased the complete wear-ability (and thus, sale-ability) of Stella’s designs (a cornerstone of her success), while also allowed potential buyers to interact with the clothes up close and personal. Ingenious eh?
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The collection featured a color palette of soft dusty pinks and vibrant blues accented with black and white (somehow, this unique mix worked brilliantly). It featured eyelet and lace and an abundance of lush botanical prints. The collection was grounded in separates – sharp suits (her signature) along with shorts, jackets and A-line skirts. With, of course, a couple of fun cocktail dresses thrown in. I am pretty sure Gwyneth has already put in her order. I think half the looks were made especially with her legs in mind.
A few (okay, not so few- I couldn’t help myself) of her best looks are featured below along with shots from the garden party.
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“I love early spring; everything’s alive again and growing. I think the clothes reflect that.” – Stella McC
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23 Jun 2010 4 Comments
My friend Sara informed me early yesterday afternoon that she would be showing up for our Tuesday night wine date in some very special new shoes. She couldn’t wait for me to see them and she couldn’t wait to debut them out on the town.
She showed up in Chanel.
Beautiful Chanel shoes. The classic kind you imagine Coco designed herself (no offense to you, Mr. Lagerfeld).
Sara: “I just love Chanel!”
(and who doesn’t? She pretty much invented everything we love about fashion today, literally. )
Sara actually got her shoes for a steal at our favorite outlet-like boutique in SF, Jeremy’s. And when you see these shoes for a third of their retail price, it is awfully hard to pass them up. Excellent purchase, my dear.
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“I don’t understand how a woman can leave the house without fixing herself up a little – if only out of politeness. And then, you never know, maybe that’s the day she has a date with destiny. And it’s best to be as pretty as possible for destiny.” – Coco Chanel
girl has got a point.
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so so pretty, aren’t they?
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“It is the unseen, unforgettable, ultimate accessory of fashion that heralds your arrival and prolongs your departure.” – CC
<3
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22 Jun 2010 3 Comments
As you can probably tell, I am on an accessories kick.
My latest personal accessories crush is these blue jeweled earrings. They are pretty amazing. They’re the kind of earrings that you can just throw on with a white tank top and bed head and you instantly look put together.
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