Middle Child
Between their costume jewelry collection, Greenbeads, and fine line, Emily and Ashley, sisters Emily and Ashley Green have the high and low of the jewelry spectrum covered. Now the Greens are striking middle ground with Greenbeads Couture, a range of statement pieces that won’t ravage your bank statement. Consider it Greenbeads’ slightly more sophisticated sibling. “I love big jewelry,” says Emily. “But with gold prices going up as they have, it’s become really hard to make large, important pieces that are affordable.” She traded precious metals for fine fabrics — silk, lace, organza and mesh — whipped into lavish bib necklaces and cuffs. Not only are they light as a feather, but they’re light on your wallet: Everything retails between $450 and $600. Greenbeads Couture hits Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus this fall.— Jessica Iredale
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Reema’s Web
After working at De Beers and on her own high-end gem collections, Reema Pachachi is breaking new ground with a line of sterling silver and 18-karat gold pieces called Kuka-me. The name combines the Zulu word “kuka,” which means “uplift,” and the English word “me,” and the line features some of Pachachi’s best-selling shapes, including the spiral ring and her hammered silver and gold flower earrings and brooches. She’s selling it on the Web (kuka-me.com), and says she is happy to correspond with customers to help them pick the right pieces. “People have a talismanic relationship with jewelry that they don’t have with clothing, and I love helping them find the right piece,” she says. Prices range from about $80 for a pair of silver flower earrings to $9,000 for the silver and gold torque necklace. — Samantha Conti
Head Case
Thanks to the hipster-prep aesthetic of “Gossip Girl,” the headband has made a triumphant return to the wellcoiffed head, and recent Parsons grad Jessie Abraham has successfully jumped aboard the hair accessories bandwagon. Her new line of barrettes, hairpins and headbands, A La Tête, cleverly mixes materials like linen, feathers, wool gauze and silk organza, yielding pieces that are elegant yet never stuffy. Currently sold online (alatete.net) and at Sucre in New York, Abraham devotes much of her time to getting the details in her collection just so. “I use a lot of organic floral and leaf shapes that are delicately hand-sewn, but with very raw edges so they are always feminine, yet undone,” she explains. “I always have this idea of a girl running through some labyrinth garden and falling into a bush and emerging with one of my headdresses.” Wholesale prices range from $25 for a barrette to $70 for a more elaborate feather headdress. — Sarah Haight
Color Therapy
Long the province of brown and black — men’s wear’s proverbial safe harbor — next season’s men’s accessories are coming to the foreground in shades of acid green, coral, cobalt blue and fiery red. And not just in sunglasses, colored versions of which sold well at retail this spring. The trend is touching shoes, jewelry, even bags. With unemployment on the rise, and stiff corporate dress out of vogue, designers are taking the opportunity to inject their wares with hues that are decidedly not boardroom friendly, says Eric Jennings, men’s fashion director at Saks Fifth Avenue. “It’s also straight economics,” he adds. “Buying an accessory is a way to get something new without breaking the bank.” That’s good news for Joseph Janus, the founder of Bodhi, a line of men’s bags known for its liberal deployment of color. “For men, it has to be functional,” says the former Calvin Klein marketing executive. “But that doesn’t mean it has to be boring.” The designer, who refuses to make brown bags, produced his spring line of satchels and duffels in caution orange, light gold and seafoam blue.
“Men are willing to wear color in ties and also sneakers. They’ll like it for bags, too, if given the opportunity,” he says. Europe’s recent shows also revealed a fair share of radioactive accessories, from Kanye West’s pink-soled kicks for Louis Vuitton to russet weekenders at Bottega Veneta. “I saw the continuation of colored casual jewelry,” adds Jennings, “from Kabbalah-esque strings, to leather cords and beads.” Stateside, David Yurman’s men’s range continues to push the envelope with an impressive collection of richly colored dog tags cut from rare green and orange turquoise, red dino bone and Picasso Jasper — a far cry from the matte silver that has dominated the men’s jewelry market for years. While such moves might suggest the rise of contemporary dandyism, the rugged and relaxed design prevents them from being fey. It’s less about foppishness and more about merchandising for the modern man. “Men can be colorful and masculine, too,” explains Janus. “Why should women have the only choices?” — Brenner Thomas
Island Time
The Galapagos have spawned another evolution. In commemoration of the bicentennial of Charles Darwin’s birth, IWC Schaffhausen is launching a special edition of its iconic Aquatimer diving watch. Inspired by the archipelago’s black lava and renowned natural splendor, the Aquatimer Chronograph Edition Galapagos Islands watch marks the latest development in the house’s sport line. The large timepiece features a matte black rubber-coated case, rotating bezel, a rubber strap and an engraving of a giant tortoise on the case’s back. That’s a wink to history buffs who might recall that the tortoise’s varied shells helped Darwin formulate his ideas of adaptation and natural selection. But the diving watch also commemorates the partnership between IWC and the Charles Darwin Foundation, a nonprofit that works to protect the Galapagos’ landmark wildlife from settlement and illegal fishing. Some of the watch’s proceeds will go to the foundation. — B.T.
Cool Curiosities
With stark necklaces evoking a schoolgirl’s collar, Amelie Riech’s new line of accessories — appropriately dubbed Uncommon Matters — blends high-concept art with tricky materials. Case in point: the use of porcelain, shaped into the aforementioned collars, or a chunky set of interlocking circles, strung on a thin mesh necklace. Riech, who previously designed and styled for companies in Europe, including Bless and Bernhard Willhelm, works from the idea of the material and what it can become, she explains. “Designwise, I do like pure things, that have a meaning, a message.” — Sarah Haight
Woman Watch
Clocks and their parts make Kara Ross tick. The jewelry and accessories designer has been collecting vintage pocket watches and coordinating fobs for years. For holiday, Ross has put her own spin on the hobby by creating the first of a string of limited edition watches. The watches, in line with Ross’ luxe and feminine aesthetic, are backed in stingray and the bezels are done in coordinating enamel of either cafe or black. The styles come on either a three-strand necklace or a single-link necklace. They retail for $250 and have already been picked up by saks.com, Holt Renfrew and Net-a-porter, to name a few. Her next step, Ross says, is a jewelry collection inspired by watches and the mechanisms inside the watch. “The inside is as beautiful as the outside,” says Ross of timepieces. — Sophia Chabbott