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coppolafrancis · 5 years

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In Jewelry, the Personal Connection

Julie Pellerin lives with her boyfriend at his stud farm in Normandy, has an apartment in Paris and adores New York.

So when a friend of her family gave her a bracelet in the shape of the Manhattan skyline, she was thrilled. “So many people have all the same jewelry,” Ms. Pellerin, 24, said, “but this you don’t see on everybody.”

The friend was the jeweler, sculptor and artist Mia Fonssagrives-Solow, and Ms. Pellerin has turned to her since to create more highly personal, one-of-a-kind pieces, including two wide cuffs. One was in black stingray; the other, silver leather, and both have silhouettes of horses crafted in sterling silver prancing around their circumferences to reflect Ms. Pellerin’s love of horses. (She rides competitively and often travels to watch equestrian events.)

“When I wear them, so many people ask about them,” Ms. Pellerin said, twisting her arms to show off the cuff on each one. “When you have special jewelry, people are attracted to it.”

It’s little wonder bespoke jewelry is becoming more popular. “Custom and customized jewelry is very hot right now,” Karen Giberson, president of the Accessories Council in New York, said, “and we see it continuing. It appeals to the desire for something unique, individualized and thoughtful.” And “there are great options” at a variety of prices, she added, “from mainstream to luxury.”

While the consensus among jewelry makers and retailers is that the sector is growing, there are no estimates of total sales or the proportion of jewelry sales it represents.

Yet custom jewelry is in such demand that Bergdorf Goodman is rolling out a series of trunk shows featuring custom jewelry makers, following on the success of its Custom Jewelry Event, which for two years brought together more than a dozen jewelers who create one-of-a-kind pieces. Increasingly “our clients are looking for something truly unique that expresses their individual style,” Elizabeth von der Goltz, the store’s senior vice president overseeing jewelry, said. “They are looking for something meaningful to them, something they can relate to. They want a personal connection to the jewelry.”

The term custom can be confusing. Jewelry that is engraved or has a charm or bead added to it is generally known in the industry and in retail circles as personalized jewelry; such customization is readily available at department and jewelry stores. But jewelry that is made for one person is custom, or bespoke.

Most people are familiar with custom clothing — like a tailored men’s suit or couture dress — and as technology has accelerated fitting and assembly techniques, fashion brands’ “made-to-measure” lines (a kind of demi-couture) has grown. But while jewelry made for individuals has deep roots in the history of people around the world, it is only recently that public taste has gone beyond manufactured pieces to again embrace distinctive designs. “We’ve seen it in fashion, and now it’s nice to see it in jewelry,” Ms. von der Goltz said.

Ms. Fonssagrives-Solow, the New York-based creator of Ms. Pellerin’s horse cuffs, said she has created hundreds of pieces of custom jewelry as a result of word of mouth. “I loved the Booth dogs in ‘The New Yorker’ cartoons and made myself a pin of one,” she said. “People would say, ‘I love your dog, but can you make one of my poodle?’ ”

For one family extremely fond of its Jack Russell terrier, she made cuff links of the pet for the husband, a pin for the wife and earrings for the daughter, all in silver with sapphire eyes. “For private customers, I’ll do anything,” said the jeweler, whose custom prices start at $200 and can be emailed at [email protected]. She said she even made a silver meerkat belt buckle for a woman whose son was researching the animals in the Kalahari Desert, adding, “I get wonderful, funny requests.”

Other commissions are sentimental, such as one that the Russian-born jeweler Alex Soldier got from a New Yorker. “It was a husband who wanted something special for his wife for their 10th anniversary,” said the New York-based jeweler, who has done work for the Bolshoi Ballet and the Princess Grace Awards in Monaco. “They had met at the New York Botanical Gardens and he wanted to commemorate that.”

Mr. Soldier created a diamond and ruby anemone — her birthstone was a ruby, for July — that could be worn as a pin, pendant, ring or bracelet.

“With everyone on the computer today, there’s a backlash against mass production,” Mr. Soldier said, whose custom pieces with precious jewels begin at $10,000. “People want something unique, something special.”

Lily Gabriella Elia, a Brazilian designer working in London, has also received romantic commissions. She made a ring with two grade A natural Tahitian pearls (“It took me four weeks to source them,” she said) that she placed as if they were “kissing” to commemorate the 30th anniversary of a couple who spent their honeymoon sailing the South Seas.

Ms. Elia said that creating such a piece can take weeks, if not months. “I discuss with the client about each of the specific requirements of their bespoke jewelry design, to ensure I create exactly what they have in mind,” she said. “This includes the precious metals and type of stone, whether it is a diamond or a stunning gemstone, I can truly customize every single portion.

“Clients sometimes have an idea of what they want the item to look like,” she continued. “If not, I will provide them with ideas. I create hand-drawn sketches. This is done with the client together, or I scan and email the drawings at a later time. Once the client is 100 percent happy with the design, one of my craftsmen creates a wax or silver model. The client can now see exactly the shape, size and thickness of their piece.”

One the model has been approved, the metal base is made and sent to the London Assay Office to be stamped with her maker’s mark, the metal quality mark and the leopard’s head that indicates it was examined in London.

“Once returned,” she said, “the stone or stones are set and the finished article is polished and placed in a personalized jewelry box, ready for the client.” Little wonder prices for such efforts start at about 10,000 pounds ($12,200).

By all means, get the 1 3 carat diamond earrings you can afford, but make sure they has also the clearest, best cut, and most colorless diamonds you can afford.

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dippedanddripped · 5 years

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Fashion is finally waking up to sustainability – but the lexicon surrounding eco-friendly and ethical fashion is fraught with inaccuracies. In ‘Get Your Greens’, Vogue explores how the industry is advancing towards a greener future.

Fashion has always had a weakness for oxymorons. Take “athleisure” – that peculiar clash of athletic meets sweat-free casual. Ditto “affordable luxury”. Its latest self-contradictory crush? “Vegan leather”.

Otherwise known as synthetic leather, it used to be colloquially identified as (insert sniffy voice here) “pleather”. It is mostly made from polyurethane, a versatile polymer made from fossil fuels, or polyvinyl chloride (PVC), another form of plastic, and was formerly derided as cheap – the “skinted” alternative to “minted” butter-soft lambskin.

by ELLIE PITHERS

But with the industry’s move away from fur – Gucci, Michael Kors, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren are just some of the luxury brands to have gone fur-free – comes a reassessment of other animal-based products. In particular, the production of leather has come under increased scrutiny.

Nearly half of Net-A-Porter’s buy for Nanushka this autumn comprises vegan leather pieces.

Animal rights campaigners point to the harsh treatment of animals farmed in industrial processes. Environmentalists point to the greenhouse gas emissions associated with raising livestock, of which leather is a byproduct – agriculture, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, is responsible for up to 18 per cent of the total release of greenhouse gases worldwide. Then there is the deforested land on which those animals often graze, and the giant vats of hazardous chemicals in which the leather is tanned (very often, these are subsequently dumped into rivers).

Yet the alternative faux leathers come at a significant environmental cost. Both polyurethane and polyvinyl chloride must undergo chemical processes to make them flexible enough to mimic leather: the former involves painting liquified polyeurethane onto a fabric backing, which requires a toxic solvent to render it fluid; the latter requires placticizers such as phthalates, which are also toxic. Both derive from fossil fuels which, when burnt, release materials such as ash, nitrogen and carbon into the atmosphere, which contribute to acid rain (as well as lots of other horrible things). And both take hundreds of years to biodegrade in landfill – a fate they are arguably more likely to meet, because the cheap, faux leather jacket you snagged for a fiver at Watford market is far less likely to be handed down through generations as an heirloom. (Besides, this country sends over 300,000 tonnes of clothing to landfill every year.)

Topshop's "vegan leather" shoe collection was released in April.

That hasn’t stopped numerous fashion brands bandying around the term “vegan leather” with increased enthusiasm. I’ve lost count of the number of press releases dropping into my inbox in recent weeks screaming about these so-called sustainable leather alternatives. Presumably that’s because consumer interest is at an all-time high. Lyst reports that over the past six months, searches for vegan leather have increased by 119 per cent. Meanwhile, the term “vegan fashion” has been responsible for over 9.3 million social impressions.

Stella McCartney Is Looking For Green-Minded Collaborators To Radically Shake Things Up

Marks & Spencer has observed particular success. Searches for “vegan” fashion doubled on its website last year, and it has increased its vegan footwear offering as a result. In April, Topshop launched a Peta-approved vegan leather shoe collection comprising 12 shapes developed in its factory in Spain, touted as “100 per cent non-animal and non-fish glue”. Even Dr Martens offers a 100 per cent vegan leather alternative to its classic 1460 leather boot.

Nanushka's vegan leather is REACH-certified under EU regulations, which mitigates the effect of harmful chemicals.

by POPPY ROY

Net-A-Porter.com has also seen increased pick-up in sales of faux leather. At its autumn/winter 2019 trends presentation, global buying director Elizabeth von der Goltz flagged how Ukrainian brand Ochi’s faux leather shirt (£470) almost sold out in its first two weeks on sale. Nanushka, a Budapest-based label that is another star brand for the retailer, has made its name with the “Hide”, a vegan leather puffer jacket owned by every Instagram influencer worth their salt, along with its “Taurus” vegan leather maxi dress.

Moda Operandi's fashion director Lisa Aiken in Nanushka's Chiara vegan leather trench coat

Nanushka’s vegan leather is made from polyurethane and polyester, though designer Sandra Sandor is at pains to point out that it is REACH-certified under EU regulations, which mitigates the effect of harmful chemicals. Subsequently, nearly half of Net-A-Porter’s buy for Nanushka this autumn comprises vegan leather pieces. “The fabric feels so supple and amazing, you’d never know the difference,” says Von der Goltz.

by SOPHIE SLATER

Stella McCartney agrees: she launched her eponymous label in 2001 with “vegetarian” principles (she has never used fur, leather, skin or feathers). Since 2013 she has used “alter-nappa” for her best-selling Falabella bag, shoes and ready-to-wear – a blend of polyester and polyurethane with a recycled polyester backing. Her faux leather has eco-credentials: the alter-nappa coating is made with 60 per cent vegetable oil; her polyurethanes are water-borne and solvent-free, meaning they’re less energy- and water-intensive and made without toxic solvents. Her website cites a statistic from Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) that “using recycled polyester instead of Brazilian calf leather, for example, creates 24 times less of an environmental impact”. But even she has had to acknowledge “that the synthetic alternatives we use are not without environmental concerns”. She is looking into lab-grown leather as an alternative.

The result is one big game of fashion whack-a-mole – you cut out one toxin over here, and it emerges again several steps later down the supply chain. As a journalist and a fashion-lover, I find myself casting around for an easy equation to adopt when weighing up a purchase. Should I save up for a much-lusted after Givenchy leather blazer, at £3,174, knowing I will wear it for life – or the faux leather Low Classic alternative, at £355, which I may well go off in several months’ time? Should I indulge my animal-lover instincts in favour of a synthetic alternative that may well have a far harsher impact on the environment? What about microfibres? What about fossil fuels? What about shipping, and packaging, and dry cleaning?

MOTHER OF PEARL

31 Aug 2018

There are always trade-offs to consider. Amy Powney, creative director of Mother of Pearl, is particularly torn on the leather debate. “There are some big issues in the production of leather [but] I do think that “vegan leather” is a marketing disaster,” she says. “Brands and suppliers are jumping on this term to associate with an ethical movement, which instantly makes the consumer feel good. But if you are buying faux leather, you need to consider you are buying plastic.”

At Gabriela Hearst's New York store, with reclaimed oak flooring, the lights dim automatically. No synthetics or chemicals were used in its construction.

READ NEXT

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by SUSAN DEVANEY

She has recently been investigating “best practice leather” as well as vegetable-tanning, which uses natural tanning agents, largely because it’s far more durable than the current faux leather options on the market. “Because the other question is, which one lasts longer?” she says. “If you buy leather goods from a brand that has high standards and ethics of leather practices, and you look after your purchase, leather can last for a really long time.”

The designer Gabriela Hearst, who breeds grass-fed, free-range cattle on the family ranch in Uruguay, is of a similar opinion. “I would be willing to use vegan leather any time, but I haven’t found one that biodegrades 100 per cent,” she says, over the phone from New York. “Everyone talks about lab-grown leather, which sounds very exciting, but is still in its very early stages. A true luxury customer knows what quality looks like – you can’t fool them. What I can do, however, is try to use things that already exist – dead-stock, bi-products. It’s a complicated issue but I focus on the waste aspect: I know that when the organic cattle we breed is sent to the slaughter house, 99 per cent of it gets used and nothing goes to waste.”

The designer Gabriela Hearst on the family ranch in Uruguay.

In the past year, Hearst has successfully switched all her packaging to compostable and biodegradable alternatives, including recycled cardboard hangers. She is in the process of re-routing delivery processes from plane to boat – no mean feat, given that one needs to build in an 8-12 week window of delay into the production schedule. “But it’s good for business,” she insists. “Shipping by boat is cheaper than shipping by plane. I’m looking at my buying orders, cutting them down, too. Being less wasteful saves you money.”

H&M's latest Conscious collection makes use of Piñatex - a leather substitute made from discarded pineapple leaves.

More good news: a new crop of viable leather alternatives is in production. H&M’s latest Conscious collection, a sustainably-minded capsule, makes use of Piñatex, a fibre made in the Philippines from discarded pineapple leaves to make faux-leather. Frumat leather made from apple peel won the Green Carpet Challenge awards in Milan in September, and sustainable denim brand Boyish is planning to use it in its autumn/winter 2020 collection. Mylo, otherwise known as mushroom leather, was debuted by start-up Bolt Threads in 2018, and is made from lab-grown mycelium, the root structure of fungi.

Livia Firth's Met Gala 2017 dress was designed by Laura Strambi and made from Piñatex, a leather-like material made from discarded pineapple leaves.

So, will we soon be toting funghi-based Fendi bags around town? Not quite. As Honor Cowen, a north America-based consultant at sustainability consultancy Anthesis, tells Vogue: “New vegan leather products that are bio-based offer alternatives, but need to scale considerably (and resourcefully) to be able to compete with the plastic market.”

The fact remains that we all need to buy less, and buy better. “Look for signs of quality and durability. I have a limited number of leather items in my wardrobe, all of which have been in my possession for a long time and will be worn or used until they break irreparably,” says Cowen. Powney agrees. “Whether you’re buying real or faux leather, make sure it’s of high quality, that you look after it, and only buy what you really need from brands that genuinely care.” Ask brands for information. Study those composition labels. In 2019, the best any of us can do is to be well educated.

#getyourgreens #fashion #sustainability #on instagram #streetwear blog

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titoslondon-blog · 6 years

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New Post has been published on Titos London

#Blog New Post has been published on http://www.titoslondon.co.uk/is-the-social-stigma-around-second-wedding-dresses-finally-gone/

Is the social stigma around second wedding dresses finally gone?

It once held that a bride’s second trip down the aisle could not, and should not, be as fabulous as her first. Her dress had to be restrained, demure even, without a hint of flash or flare. She dared not don a traditional wedding gown and it best not be white—cream, perhaps, but preferably a muted beige or a subtle grey. It was a kind of sartorial penance, if you will, for the mistakes of the first failed marriage.

Yet on the eve of what is sure to be the most splendid second wedding in recent history—Meghan Markle, an American divorcee, to Prince Harry—twice-betrothed women are vowing to dress how they please. Second-time brides (and third- and fourth-time ones, for that matter) report choosing a dress that is often more elaborate than the first and more representative, they say, of who they are and what makes them feel beautiful.

“While the die-hard traditionalists might arch an eyebrow at a woman deciding to wear a wedding dress for her second big day, there is very little stigma attached to that decision now,” says Jade Beer, editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Brides and author of the soon-to-be-published novel The Almost Wife. The concern isn’t whether the dress is appropriately tamed, it’s whether it avoids the mistakes of the first frock and is sufficiently statement-making so that the bride won’t blend in with her guests.

Beer attributes the shift to a broader evolution of bridal fashion. “Wedding dresses are no longer confined to the strapless ballgown template. They are wearable, they move, they translate to your future wardrobe,” she says. These dresses are pieces “that would be entirely appropriate as eveningwear or the red carpet,” made by designers “known for their fashion credentials beyond the world of bridal,” Beer adds, citing Naeem Khan, Mira Zwillinger and Galia Lahav.

Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director for Net-a-Porter, says the luxury e-commerce site is seeing “more demand for different bridal options within the most sought-after brands,” like Gabriela Hearst and Brandon Maxwell. Tailored bridal pieces, and suits with a jacket and pants, have been the “ultimate standout trend,” she explains.

Whoever the designer of Markle’s much-anticipated dress is, the gown is guaranteed to be a significant step up from her first wedding. For her 2011 beach celebration in Jamaica, Markle donned a simple strapless number, with a notched neckline and beaded belt. The former Suits star is in good company doing it bigger and better the second time round. Model Miranda Kerr quietly, and secretly, married her first husband Orlando Bloom, but that didn’t stop her from selecting a haute couture Dior wedding dress for her 2017 wedding to Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel in Los Angeles. The wedding was restrained—just 45 guests or so at their Los Angeles home—but the look was not. Inspired by the gown Grace Kelly wore to marry Prince Rainier of Monaco, Kerr’s fairytale dress had a high neck, long sleeves and full skirt, worn with a headpiece that could be mistaken for a tiara.

Kim Kardashian’s second and third weddings were much more elaborate than her first when she eloped in Las Vegas. The second soiree, to Kris Humphries, saw her change into three custom Vera Wang gowns. And when she wed Kanye West, in a lavish celebration in Florence, she chose a custom-made lace Givenchy gown by Riccardo Tisci.

“People getting married for the second time are wearing an even bigger dress,” says Mark Niemierko, the UK wedding planner who is so high-end that he considers “Chanel to be middle market”. The only factor to consider in a remarriage are the logistical mistakes made the first time, he says, like running out of Champagne. Niemierko sees absolutely no lingering scent of a stigma attached to wearing a grand second wedding gown, audibly scoffing at the suggestion of it.

Still, a century hasn’t yet passed since King Edward VIII needed to abdicate the throne before he could marry Wallis Simpson, an American divorcee. Fast forward a generation and now Prince Charles, heir to the throne, is quite famously on his second marriage, as is his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. “The mere fact that a member of the royal family is marrying someone from overseas who has been divorced shows you how far the British royal family has come,” says Sarah Haywood, a London-based international luxury wedding planner and author.

Haywood has a list of questions she asks her clients when she begins working with them, including whether one or both has been married before. But she doesn’t dig much deeper than that or ask questions about previous weddings. “If you are going out to buy a sofa, the salesperson doesn’t want to know about the one you are getting rid of,” she says. The only sensitivities she sees are around certain religious requirements or if children are involved.

Older brides getting remarried tend to show more restraint but wedding industry insiders say that is the result of age, not societal pressure. The Duchess of Cornwall wore a dove grey Anna Valentine dress for her 2005 wedding to Prince Charles. Jerry Hall chose a steely blue Vivienne Westwood dress for her marriage to Rupert Murdoch.

Stefanie Clyman Gold, an American sales coach, began her second wedding dress hunt in New York looking for cocktail options, but soon worried she would blend in with her guests, a common, and warranted, fear among second-time brides. A long white dress “felt silly” at her age (46 at the time), while most other colours made her feel like the mother of a bride. She knew what she didn’t want: a repeat of her first wedding dress, a long white gown with a sweetheart neckline selected by her mother from Priscilla of Boston, the now-shuttered American chain (the founder made the bridesmaids dresses for Grace Kelly’s wedding). “I don’t even remember having a choice,” Clyman Gold says.

After trying on a pink gown at Vera Wang (“I looked like a birthday cake,” she says), Clyman Gold reluctantly agreed to try on a red dress at the urging of a salesperson. “Oh my god, this is the dress,” she remembers thinking. She adored the deep scarlet strapless gown, with a mermaid hem and full tulle train.

But as much as she loved it, she proactively told a few friends about the dress before her big day. “I felt a little insecure,” she says. “I needed somebody to say, ‘It’s OK, it’s OK, you can do that.’” She even told her future husband, and he was thrilled. Now, some four years later, her voice still swells as she thinks of the dress. “I just felt so good,” she says.

That worry—what others will think—is becoming less of a factor, says Bruce Russell, a London-based luxury wedding planner. Instead, brides are prioritising their own preferences. “Now if she wants it, she’ll have it. If she doesn’t, she won’t,” he says.

Another second-time bride, Melissa Crane-Baker, wanted her second wedding dress to be “sophisticated and sexy” she says, but “not too bridal”. She had previously eloped in an Armani slip dress, but wasn’t interested in a princess moment. Instead, she selected a sleek gown from Reem Acra with a lace top, cap sleeves and open back. She did little to her hair, choosing instead to go with her day-old blow-dry. Her wedding had the feel of “a really fun Saturday party,” she says. “It just so happened that I was wearing a major gown.”

1/7 Camila, The Duchess of Cornwall

Image: Getty

Jerry Hall

Image: Rex Features

Meghan Markle

Image: Getty

Melissa Crane-Baker

Image: Gesi Schilling

Stefanie Clyman Gold

Image: Marie Labbancz

Stefanie Clyman Gold

Image: Marie Labbancz

Wallis Simpson

Image: Getty

The post Is the social stigma around second wedding dresses finally gone? appeared first on VOGUE India.

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