To tell the story of her meteoric rise from fame-seeker to political powerhouse, Argentinean actress Elena Roger, in the role of Eva Perón, makes quite a few costume changes—in one scene alone, cycling through several different slips and robes from the stream of suitors she entertains before meeting Juan Perón. Designer Christopher Oram partnered with Swarovski Elements to make sure her wardrobe would stand out from the crowd—and it does, thanks to more than 340,000 crystals.
On Perón’s iconic ball gown (inspired by a Christian Dior number she actually owned), 160,000 of those Swarovski sparklers were meticulously hand-applied.
A photo of Perón in her Christian Dior gown and a sketch for the
costume.
Elena Roger in the final gown.Evita is playing at the Marquis Theatre.
Hemmerle 18k white gold, copper,
tsavorite garnet, tourmaline and aquamarine earrings, price on request,
Last weekend, I unearthed these beautiful vintage Dooney & Burke
handbags (above) at the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market. The leatherwork is
impeccable, and the classic structure makes them enduring closet
staples.
In a little booth lined with purses I found this beautifully beaded
Whiting & Davis evening handbag (above). Diane, the owner of this stand, told me
that it was made in the early 1950s. “I believe that one was made right
here in the U.S.,” she said.
At Yoli’s Designer Boutique at the uptown Green Flea Market, I found
these vintage Chanel pumps (above). The stand also had impeccably maintained
garments from YSL and Alexander McQueen. “Making designer merchandise
more accessible is my goal,” Yoli told me. “It makes women happy when
they score a deal.”
These Christian Dior frames (above) immediately caught my eye. The two-toned
detail adds character and quirk to these oversize sunnies. Esther
Harris, the owner of Vintage Eyeware, informed me that they’ve never
been worn and are in mint-condition. When asked where she sources her
impressive inventory of frames, Harris replied, “I only deal with two
sellers who are my longtime friends.” You can choose between clear
frames or tinted.
The Silver Lady booth was on a blue streak. Judith Rotenburg, the Silver
Lady herself, told me a bit about this gold textured ring with blue
gemstones (above): “It’s solid gold and imported from Israel. I’m not sure what
kind of gem that it, but isn’t it beautiful?”
For its first collection of fine jewelry, Hermès has returned to its
equestrian roots, using the hoof and whip as jumping-off points. Headed
by Pierre Hardy, who art directs all of the company’s jewelry design,
the striking 21-piece lineup includes a fluid platinum Fouet necklace
covered in
36 carats of diamonds, along with Centaure rings (left) in
rose gold, white diamonds, and orange aventurine. “The challenge was
taking these very rustic elements and transforming them into
sophisticated dream objects,” Hardy says. The collection just kicked off
the U.S. leg of its world tour, appearing this month in the brand’s Palm
Beach store (available by special order; $2,125–$1,025,000).
Tiffany, Cartier, and Boucheron are names typically associated with the
celebratory—multi-carat engagement rings and necklaces for
shimmering nights out. But in the lush book Lest We Forget: Masterpieces
of Patriotic Jewelry and Military Decorations (Taylor Trade Publishing),
Judith Price, president of the National Jewelry Institute, showcases the
brands’ role in creating jewelry and objets used during wartime to
communicate with loved ones—or commemorate them. Price presents a
picture of the world’s military past through 150 iconic pieces
culled from London’s Victoria & Albert Museum, New
York’s West Point, Paris’s Musée de
l’Armée, and countless private collections. Among them are
the Victory Clock (above)—made by Cartier in 1930 and later
presented to Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who used it to keep track of
time in multiple war zones—and the platinum, diamond, ruby, and
sapphire Red Cross medallion brooch Joseph Chaumet designed in 1917 for
his daughter, a nurse, to wear on the front lines. Notes Price:
“The jewelry was to say, ‘Don’t forget
me—I’m there for you’” (
Hublot white gold and diamond watch, Louis Vuitton 18k rose gold watch, Ulysse Nardin 18k rose gold and diamond watch
The classic red lip has always been a shortcut to a glamorous style
statement. For those looking to double down, these red-trimmed
timepieces offer another way to put your best face forward.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Cartier had resorted to a bit of sorcery in crafting these three rings, part of its latest fine jewelry collection, Sortilège de Cartier. Instead, it charged its craftsmen with creating a unique gem-within-a-gem setting in which a precious stone is enclosed in a custom-cut semiprecious stone, to luminous effect. “It creates a sort of illusion—you don’t know what the material is,” explains Pierre Rainero, director of image, style, and heritage at Cartier International.
In 1926 Coco Chanel designed the costumes for Jean Cocteau’s play Orphée, using a juxtaposition of light and dark. The latest Chanel fine jewelry collection, Contrastes, runs with the idea, pairing black and white—one of the designer’s favorite combinations—in these brilliant spinel, diamond, pearl, and moonstone earrings.
For six decades Georland has been designing jewelry for some of the biggest names dotting the Place Vendôme—and for private clients who have included Queen Sofia of Spain and Princess Diana, for whom it made a very particular platinum, diamond, and sapphire necklace. Now the brand, known for its impeccable workmanship—some pieces have required up to 30 craftsmen to execute—is debuting its own Private Collections. Take this delicate, lacy cuff inspired by the Silk Road: Minuscule honeycombs and lattices of white gold covered in 5.1 carats of diamonds form a tiaralike setting for a blinding 2.78-carat green tourmaline. Discreet? Perhaps not—but certainly fit for royalty.
Born into a famed jewelry family, Marina Bulgari managed to make a name for herself when she founded her own line of baubles, Marina B, in 1976. She became known for her geometric shapes, spring-mounted necklaces and bracelets, and unusual treatment of colorful precious stones, and her creations were a huge hit among her European jetsetter pals (and such movie stars as Sophia Loren). She sold the line in 1999, but fortunately today’s girls-about-town can discover her work for themselves. The design team behind Windsor Jewelers delved into the Marina B archives and even turned to the same Italian artisans with whom Bulgari worked to revive the line, starting this fall with pieces like this geometri 18-karat gold choker with an assortment of diamonds and cabochon rubies.
