FASHION INDIE

Julia Bristow Jewelry is unique, elegant, signed, hand-crafted bead jewelry.  All jewelry is made using high-quality, semi-precious gemstone beads, Swarovski crystals, beautiful sparkling Czech glass flowers, fruit, leaves, etc., and various pearls, shell, clay and wood beads.

Most of the jewelry pieces are made with gold and silver plated metals, with some gold-filled and sterling pieces.   Many items can be custom altered replacing plated metals with gold, gold-filled, or sterling silver findings at appropriate price adjustment upon request. All necklaces and bracelets are signed on attached sterling or gold-filled hangtags, Julia Bristow, unless noted.

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So I’ve already talked about the all black people issue of Vogue Italia that is set to hit newsstands in June, but what I didn’t realize is that the issue will also feature some of my peeps.  Arlenis, a fresh faced Dominican model, will be gracing the pages of the issue with a solo spread and one where she’ll play model friendly with Alek Wek, Jourdan and Iman Chanel.

So that begs the question to be asked.

Is it an all Black Vogue if some of the models aren’t black? Or is this more a non-white Vogue?

Either way, it’s kind of exciting to see a model on the runway from the island countries. It isn’t my native Puerto Rico, but I’ve spent enough time with Dominicandies to call them friends.

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T-Shirt from the collection.

It is a marriage made in green-grass heaven: Miguel Adrover, the Spanish designer who fought logo mania with recycling; and Hess Natur, the German mail order brand with 30-year-old roots in sustainable fashion.

The two have teamed up to create an Adrover-designed capsule collection, which will be launched online in July as part of a worldwide push to bring style to environmentally friendly clothes.

“I think I am going to make my dream come true,” says Adrover, whose maverick but visionary talent has finally been recognized. “I am glad to work for this company not only because of the philosophy and sustainability behind it, but because I can work with a clear conscience. It is really difficult to produce anything organic,” says Adrover. “I tried to use natural fabrics. For me the experience is of learning every day. When I go to Première Vision,” the French fabric fair, “99 percent of fabrics are not organic. Only the Japanese are a little bit ahead.”

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In every piece of the EUTECTIC collection, this sense of balance and uniformity is ever present. Silver, gold, and natural stones combine to create a single, coherent design while also highlighting each element’s individual beauty. The result of this combination produces pieces with a seemingly harder, more sculptural edge than other brands. However, the designs also conjure images of architectural elements and wide open spaces, keeping the jewelry feminine, graceful, and timeless.

EUTECTIC jewelry is created with the individual in mind. Signature EUTECTIC pieces are bold enough to wear at any formal event, but understated enough for the office or weekend wear. And because beauty comes in all shapes, colors, and sizes, EUTECTIC jewelry also offers a wide variety of designs. Earrings and necklaces are often created in two sizes: thinner wire and smaller stones for women with petite frames or delicate features and thicker wire and more substantial stones for those with bold styles or stronger features.

Few chemical combinations have a eutectic point; the rest simply exist as they are: unbalanced, but stable. It is our hope that you find your eutectic point — the point in your life at which all the lists, the hopes, the responsibilities, the concerns, the events, and the chores exist in one place, in one state. And though we know that sparkly rocks alone won’t make your life complete, we do think that what we create will fulfill your need to feel beautiful and be practical.

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Everyday products don’t have to mean everyday design. Industrial designer Malcolm Fontier has developed a collection of 100% animal- friendly bags, wallets and travel cases that prove that common items can look good and do their job at the same time- all while giving a nod to our four-legged friends by using globally-sourced, non-leather alternatives and unique PU coated canvases. Functional can be funky, and the Malcolm Fontier collection boasts a universal design style and a clean, sophisticated beauty that design fans everywhere can appreciate.

Light as air and seductively simple design: The classic wallet is re-imagined with the Mojito, a slim little number made from smooth polyurethane that holds up to 4 cards. An elastic strap keeps everything stylishly in place, while a side pocket offers an updated version of the money clip. The signature Malcolm Fontier double rectangle logo runs across the bottom for the ultimate in understated, yet unique, designer style.

Give your pockets a rest and stash your essentials in The Entertainer, an utterly sophisticated canvas carryall with polyurethane accents at the corners and on the strap. An ultra-slender profile makes it the perfect go-everywhere bag to sling comfortably across your body, while the large interior padded neoprene pocket can hold everything you need and your laptop, too! A separate magazine pocket means that your favorite design magazine can go wherever you do, to the office or to the airport. The Malcolm Fontier double rectangle logo is featured on the front flap and on the strap. It all adds up to the ideal marriage of form and function.

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It all started the year 2003 in a one-bedroom apartment in Chelsea.  It was the place where a group of friends, all students at the Fashion Institute of Technology would go to relax at night and in between classes.  Two of these friends were Patrick Chirico, otherwise known as “Monkey,” and Brian Farrell.  “We would stay up late listening to music and creating art.  Most of our friends were studying some kind of design, so it was an amazingly creative environment,” says Farrell.

One night, Chirico was trying to turn old vinyl records he had found on the street into bowls.  When an oven malfunction occurred, the idea hit him to start turning these unused records into bracelets.  At that point, WrecordsByMonkey was born.  The company now operates out of a studio in Brooklyn, where they design and manufacture all of the bracelets, fine jewelry, and apparel assortments.

Patrick and Brian realize their success and inspiration are driven by the community in which they live.  To show their appreciation they continue to be involved with charitable organizations and philanthropic ventures.  WBM has donated to the Make A Wish Foundation, Life Beat, and the Stoked Foundation.  In 2006, they collaborated with 12 local artists to create the “NYC Artist Series” in which a percentage of the proceeds have been donated to art and music programs in public Brooklyn schools.  To find out more about any of these organizations, visit their links in our “Friends of Mine” section.

There is no limit to what WBM might do or where they might show up.  They are continually growing, with innovative ideas and creative designs paving the road to new product offerings and customer satisfaction in this progressive market.  WrecordsByMonkey.  Where Fashion, Art, and Music Collide. 

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WWD reports that talks between representatives of Renzo Rosso of Diesel and Hedi Slimane took place as recently as this past weekend, but Slimane’s people insist no deal has been made — and may never be.

Following reports Slimane may be tapped to design Diesel’s new Red Collection, one of his representatives told WWD that the former Dior Homme creative director has “no interest at all in Renzo Rosso’s group, let alone Diesel.” Oh, snap. That sounds like a diss to me.

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