You've seen Pamela Love everywhere. Her jewelry at least. Her eagle-claw cuff is an editorial mainstay, and the Times hearts her bird-skull necklace. But the painter-drummer-designer, who's collaborating with Marchesa for their upcoming fashion show (along with fellow jewelry designer Eddie Borgo) has become the go-to girl for cool, amazingly chic, giant pieces.
When Pamela
Love was in middle school, she used to make bracelets out of toothbrushes.
She’d heat up a pot of water, submerge the brushes in the boiling liquid, and
then use pliers to bend the softened plastic into a cuff-like shape. “I had a
turquoise one, a purple glitter one. This was before toothbrushes looked like
spaceships, you know?” says the designer, who turned 30 this year.
Love’s taste
in accessories has evolved considerably since she was a kid. Now she’s fond of
talons, crosses, and ornate geometric shapes cast in gold, silver, brass, and
bronze. She’s made bracelets shaped like cobwebs and earrings that look like
spiders. But one thing hasn’t changed: “I still have an obsession with
jewelry,” she says.
Thanks to
Love’s growing notoriety—her pieces are featured regularly in Vogue, Harper’s
Bazaar, Elle, and Lucky—sales of her jewelry are likely to keep growing. But
while she says she is committed to creating jobs, she’s also open to outside
investors or even an acquisition, as long as she can retain creative control of
her line. That would free her up to focus on what she loves most: making the
unforgettable jewelry that got her noticed in the first place.
Amidst the
flowing gowns, draped skirts, fluid silhouettes, and bright bold colors of New
York Fashion Week, there is Pamela Love, edgy jewelry designer and CFDA/Vogue
Fashion Fund nominee. On Sunday, Love presented her Spring 2011 collection—a
mash-up of blue war paint, wildly messy hair, and tribal-inspired jewelry—to an
admiring audience. Stand-out pieces include oversized stone necklaces, chunky
three-finger rings, spiked cuffs, jumbo star-shaped bracelets, skull beads, and
long disc necklaces—all inspired by “the mixing of the alchemical elements of
earth, wind, fire, water and air.” Of course, a collection as wild as this has
an equally fierce audience, which explains the presence of Kate Lanphear,
Carine Roitfeld, Devendra Banhart, and Olivier Zahm, to name a few.
When it comes
to
men’s jewelry, I subscribe to the K.I.S.S. principle: “Keep It Simple,
Stupid!” That’s why I was surprised when I saw the decidedly un-minimalist
men’s jewelry designed by Pamela Love as worn by the decidedly cool and stylish
Vladimir Restoin-Roitfeld. And I loved it.
Leave it to
Vladimir to carry off a bold pendant necklace without looking like some cheesy
Flavor Flav wannabe. How does he do it? Let’s look past the fact that Vlad is
young, hot, and linked with a serious babe, stylist extraordinaire, Ms.
Giovanna Battaglia. Vlad, with his curator's eye, knows good jewelry when he
sees it. Pamela Love’s crow skull pendants, talon cuffs, and bold cross rings
are a departure from the minimalist adornment typically considered de rigueur
for men, but the strength and masculinity of her designs cannot be denied.
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