We adore Jules for supporting her community by making her jewelry right here in NYC.

“I love the city and I really want to support where I live and work,” she said. “I’m proud I’m able to work in Manhattan and sustain my work presence here.”

To learn more about Bijules and see all the collections, visit bijulesnyc.com.

WHAT:

WHY: Jules Kim aka Bijules, is now offering her designs for the superchain Urban Outfitters. BJ by Jules Kim, available now at UO, has all the attitude of her main line, but with a toned-down edge. Viva la knucledusters!

PRICE: $162

AVAILABLE: www.urbanoutfitter.com

LINK LOVE:Lustworthy: Bijules Rings

Become a FashionIndie.com contributor. Subscribe to Envy.

WHAT:

WHY: Jules Kim aka Bijules, is now offering her designs for the superchain Urban Outfitters. BJ by Jules Kim, available now at UO, has all the attitude of her main line, but with a toned-down edge. Viva la knucledusters!

PRICE: $162

AVAILABLE: www.urbanoutfitter.com

LINK LOVE:Lustworthy: Bijules Rings

Become a FashionIndie.com contributor. Subscribe to Envy.

FI: You’ve recently collaborated with Lorenzo Martone and Urban Outfitters. What’s the one brand or person you want to collaborate with now?

JK: I would love to collaborate with Boudicca. It is difficult to find a brand which speaks a similar language in the fashion world.

There is something simple, elegant, yet poignant about their vision.

FI: Your currently launching a higher end collection. What was your inspiration for the line and what made you want to launch it now?

JK: “Bijules Haute: Le Nez de Tycho” is inspired by the life and stories of Danish Renaissance alchemist, Tycho Brahe. He just could not get on with this one guy and so Tycho was challenged by having a pistol-stuffed glove thrown at his feet. In the duel, his nose was shot off and in response he created his own gold prosthetic version.

I wanted to combine the ritual of dueling, the theory of alchemy (Jules Kim is THE modern day alchemist, what what), and the dainty elegance of a southern debutante. (I’m from Richmond, VA- southern belle-central) the 6 pieces are highly conceptual and loaded with history.

FI: With the swimwear collection you created with Lorenzo you’ve entered into the world of apparel. Can we expect a Jules Kim fashion label in the near future?

JK: Ha, mayyyybe…but clothes are too easy. They are everywhere, it is not a marketplace that needs another face. I would prefer to make statements in worlds that need new vision.

FI: You’re a global traveler, what are some of your favorite spots to shop around the world?

JK: I adore Paris for its super saturated history. The south of Italy is bitterly quiet (I’m scared of silence, thanks a lot New York) yet extremely inspiring. I would love to go to my motherland, well actually my fatherland because my father is Korean.

FI: Where to you draw your inspiration from?

JK: Everything. Literally I am open to absorbing new stories, new things, new challenges…

FI: You seem to be a celebrity magnet with Beyonce and Nicole Richie spotted in your designs. Who would be the dream person to wear one of your pieces, fictional, dead or alive?

JK:  I love that I am part of fueling pop culture. I would have loved to make something for my line’s muse, Tycho Brahe and of course I would adore miss Grace Jones in my new smoking lip piece…
FI: What advice would you give to young designers?

JK: Take risks and do not ever doubt your role as a creator.

FI: Do you have any hidden talents no one knows about?

JK: Um, I used to play flute. I had to stop because I was bothered by the fact that classical music rarely leaves room for improvisation or alterations on staid themes.

FI: What’s playing on your iPod right now?

JK: The Sleighbells are the shit, go Alexis! Also my new fave repeat track is Higher Places- On Giving Up.

FI: If you weren’t in fashion today, what would you be doing?

JK: Most likely I would be creating something…art or music as I am most comfortable in positions of expression!

FI: What do you do when you have free time?

JK: Whats that? I love my friends and spend as much time with them as possible, long walks on beaches, sunsets and shit-

Thanks Jules, check out her website here and Twitter account here

According to Lolo, “swim seems to be dominated by an L.A. aesthetic, and our collection brings a New York attitude to it.”

Refinery29 has described the line as “big bows that look like it was made of discarded trash bags” and compared it to a “first-year fashion school project”. We’d have to completely disagree.

The look is very Wang meets swim, with a good dose of sheer and sheen. Definitely a downtown girls bikini.

Link Love:  WWD

Lorenzo Martone, fashion insider and Marc Jacobs beau, will launch Nycked, a line of women’s swimwear this summer. Just to clarify, Nycked is derived from the initials N.Y.C. and is pronounced “nicked” (not, thankfully, “nekkid”). Martone tells WWD that he wanted to bring a “downtown” and “New York attitude” to a swimwear market that is largely influenced by bright and sunny L.A. Hence, a color scheme dominated by blacks, whites and reds and some nude mesh overlays thrown in for good measure.

Martone will launch the 20-design collection at Miami Swimweek next month and is aiming for specialty boutiques and big chains like Saks Fifth Avenue. The locally produced collection will run from $120 to $130 for suits to $210 for cover-ups. Nycked is a collaboration with friend and Bijules jewelry designer, Jules Kim (who on a side note will be launching two lower priced collabs with Urban Outfitters this Fall). The elephant in the room is, of course, did boyfriend Marc Jacobs lend a hand with the Nycked line? No, Martone tells WWD, “I don’t advise mixing the personal and professional.”
· Lorenzo Martone Launches Swimwear Line WWD, subscription req’d

LINK LOVE:Launches & Releases: Lorenzo Martone Launches a Swimwear Line Without Marc's Help