Tobak, author of “Ice Cold: A Hip-Hop Jewelry History,” shares how the exhibition came to be, and the pieces people may be surprised to see.
18 New-to-Couture Brands Not To Miss
This year, there are a number of show newcomers worth setting aside time for.
Las Vegas--This year, 71 new booths will populate the ballrooms of the Wynn during the annual Couture show, taking place June 2 to 6.
While a veteran attendee may think they’ve seen it all, there’s no dearth of creativity from the following Couture newcomers whom we recommend meeting (and that’s not even counting the new class entering the Design Atelier; stay tuned for a future article on that.)
Some of the designers highlighted are early on in their careers, while others are industry legends. Both will have plenty to offer buyers and press come June.
Lord Jewelry
Booth 127
Designer Sinork Agdere honed his craft over years of both design study and practical application in Istanbul, Turkey. In 2002, he founded Lord Jewelry in Los Angeles.
Agdere’s work reveals his fascination with antique and vintage jewelry, as well as his love of vivid shades of enamel.
Oscar Heyman
Booth 148
Two storied American jewelry houses are making Couture debuts in 2017, one is David Webb and the other is Oscar Heyman.
Oscar Heyman has been a trade show fixture for years, but is making the leap from JCK to Couture this year, reacquainting a different audience with the spectacular gems for which the house is known.
Fresh off a book charting the brand’s history, consider this a time of elevation for Oscar Heyman.
Noudar
Booth 154
Qatari designer Noor Alfardan hails from a jewelry retail family but has ventured into the design world with her own line, Noudar.
Fashion-forward pieces meet intricate, Islamic-inspired design motifs in Alfardan’s collections, which are produced entirely in her home country.
Sarah Hendler
Booth 601
A couple of noticeable multi-brand showroom booths are missing at this year’s show but sales and public relations agency For Future Reference is filling that void with its very own space.
Sarah Hendler will be showing for the first time among For Future Reference’s clientele. The eponymous brand combines antique glamour, like a Victorian star motif, with a modern insouciance via enamel and gemstone pops of color.
Retrouvaí
Booth 601
Joining Hendler is new brand-to-know, Retrouvaí by designer Kirsty Stone. Stone’s vivacious multi-stone drop earrings and elegant medallions have made a big splash in the industry since the designer won the inaugural edition of “The Next Now,” an emerging designer competition from Ylang23.
Couture seems like the logical next step for the designer, who offers pieces at a variety of price points sure to please retailers.
Julez Bryant
Booth 610
Julez
The California-based designer, who has been in business over a decade, manages to make major amounts of gold and diamonds feel relaxed and unfussy.
Hoorsenbuhs
Booth 1100
Established in 2005 in Santa Monica, California, Hoorsenbuhs’ signature tri-link design has caught the attention of cultural influencers across industries. The brand, helmed by Robert Keith and Kether Parker, has partnered on projects with everyone from Jay-Z to Damien Hirst.
Last year, they opened a flagship store in New York City. The best thing about the buzzy brand? Most of their pieces can be worn by women or men.
Yael Sonia
Booth 419
Brazilian designer Yael Sonia has exhibited at Couture before but is making her return this year, equipped with her signature kinetic, graphic jewels.
Sonia’s oeuvre exemplifies the idea of “wearable art.” There are strong ties to sculpture throughout her work, and pieces that move just beg to be played with.
Bayco
Booth #214
Bayco is well known for its handling of exquisite and rare gems, such as the “Muzo Spectacular” emerald necklace or the “Crimson Ruby” ring.
Run by the Hadjibay family, who collected gems prior to producing their own jewelry in New York in the 1990s, expect to see numerous iterations of “the big three.” Their emeralds, in particular, are a must-see.
Karma El Khalil
Booth 429
New York-based Karma El Khalil has a diverse body of work, but the young designer to watch is most known for her sophisticated geometric designs that give femininity an edge.
El Khalil has successfully done what every young brand must do to survive in the long-run--develop a signature. She moves seamlessly between her more wearable works and stunning, one-of-a-kind masterpieces.
Pamela Huizenga
Booth 158
Pamela Huizenga’s background in the lapidary arts overwhelmingly informs her eponymous fine jewelry line.
Officially launched in 2009, Huizenga incorporates interesting gem elements into her otherwise classic collections; think traphiche emeralds and fossils.
VanLeles
Booth 320
VanLeles is the brainchild of Vania Leles, a GIA graduate and former employee of Sotheby’s jewelry department, Graff Diamonds and De Beers.
Focused on using responsibly sourced materials, VanLeles doesn’t forfeit glamour for ethics. The brand specializes in high jewelry pieces that utilize an abundance of diamonds and color gemstones.
Leyla Abdollahi
Booth #1006
A graduate of the famed Central Saint Martins University of the Arts in London, Leyla Abdollahi creates technically intricate pieces that seem to defy the human limits of design.
Abdollahi’s work features flowing, curving abstractions as well as pieces inspired by nature. In the vein of a Wendy Yue or Wallace Chan, Abdollahi is a designer to keep an eye on.
Page Sargisson
Booth #514
As a child, Page Sargisson was taught wood carving by her grandfather, which later inspired her to continue working with her hands at the jeweler’s bench.
Based in Brooklyn, New York, Sargisson’s organic-feeling and tactile designs are all made using recycled materials.
Molu
Booth #209
Turkish brand Molu is making a U.S. push with their presence at Couture this year. Like several Middle Eastern brands of note, they deftly handle magnificent gemstones and diamonds in innovative ways.
Their Ballerina ring, pictured below, is reason enough to stop in and see what other creations they have to offer.
Repossi
Booth Petrus 1
Since Gaia Repossi, the fourth generation designer of the heritage brand, took the creative reigns in 2007, she has sculpted the brand into one of the most influential in contemporary jewelry today.
Playing with scale, proportion, asymmetry and even how and where jewelry can be worn, Repossi manages to make luxury cool for a generation that eschews it.
Celine D’Aoust
Booth 1105
Celine D’Aoust cites nature as the influence behind her namesake line of jewelry.
The Belgium-based designer lends an elegant touch to organic slices of colorful gemstones. Tourmalines in particular seem to be D’Aoust’s number-one muse.
Maria Canale
Booth #144
Maria Canale spent decades designing behind the scenes at Tiffany & Co., Harry Winston, Richard Krementz and Carvin French.
Now, she creates elaborate pieces under her own moniker. Expect to see major one-of-a-kind pieces that carry the thread of classic glamour Canale inherited during her tenure at renowned design houses.
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