Zac Posen

Zac Posen

Wild New Jewelry

M. Graves Line

Now that anyone and everyone can sell their own creative visions everywhere online from Ebay to Etsy, jewelry designers are digging deep to come up with never-before-seen creations. Finding inspiration and resources in unlikely places like a German doll factory in the case of Megan Marrin’s M. Graves jewelry line or shards of discarded broken glass, which Fenton designer Dana Lorenz used for her collection for designer and Michelle Obama favorite, Thakoon. Of course, you can’t talk jewelry these days without hearing about downtown darling Pamela Love whose gothic pieces reference everything from religion to Native American and tribal design. Needless to say, they’re all referencing the past.

M. Graves Necklace

Get all dolled up and don an M. Graves necklace crafted with 19th century Bisque doll heads excavated from the remains of what used to be an old doll factory in Thuringia, Germany. New York artist, Megan Marrin started making jewelry in 2007 as a side interest apart from her main job in fashion casting and selling her large-scale art pieces. Marin originally came across the doll pieces through a search on Ebay, but has since hired German diggers to go hunting for them in the remains of old bombed out factories from WWII. The collection doesn’t just include doll heads, but everything from doll feet to doll arms, you name it. Some of the pieces almost have that cameo feel, while others are decidedly a bit more creepy, but in a good way. But, if you’re looking for in the market for Victorian the old-fashioned way, check out this 19th century coral cameo brooch from Patina.

Dana Lorenz for Thakoon

On the other hand, if you’re digging the idea of broken remnants from things past, check out designer Dana Lorenz of Fenton’s pieces she made for womenswear designer, Thakoon. These geometric looking statement pieces made from broken pieces of discarded glass set against a gunmetal-like background are sure to turn heads. Lorenz, originally a poet and painter, is no stranger to fashion having worked at both Gucci and Donna Karan as well as lending her jewelry designs to the runways of Proenza Schouler and Brian Reyes. Her collection is currently available at Barneys and Ikram in Chicago. That being said it’s clear Lorenz’s glass necklaces have made the cut.

Pamala Love Pamala Love

If you like things with an edge, you might want to check out designer of the moment, Pamela Love, whose designs are being seen everywhere these days from HBO’s True Blood to the runways of Zac Posen and are being worn by everyone in the in-crowd from Julia Reston Roitfeld to Francesco Clemente. Love’s jewelry has an interesting combination of gothic and rustic, earthy influences. Her recent collection incorporates tribal influences, which can be seen in pieces like her Heishi bead bracelet or her Douglas feather cuff. Tribal influences are the rage these days, seen everywhere from the runway of Junya Watanabe to the recent frenzy over Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are. Love even made a Wild Things collection for Opening Ceremony. For the real deal, check out Hudson Supermarket’s elaborate Naga (Angami) glass and shell necklace. Love’s collection also includes a gothic rosary bead necklace with a daggar instead of a cross, but if you prefer to keep things purely spiritual check out La Cruz del Sur’s Vermeille silver colonial rosary. Anyway you slice it, it’s clear that designers are wild about reinventing old traditions and nostalgic items from things past.

Pamala Love -----------------------------------

This article was written by Paige Reddinger. Paige Reddinger is a freelance writer based in New York. Prior to venturing out onto her own to do freelance she worked as a writer at TIME Magazine's Style & Design issue under Kate Betts for two years. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama she graduated from Penn State University with a BA in English and French in 2005. Four the past four years she has resided in New York's East Village.

About the Author

Zac Posen: Fall 2009 RTW