Fashion Forecast
by Sandra Keiser and Brenda Schweder
Reinventing
jewelry
The holidays over, beaders can put
on thinking caps and sift through
ideas that have been percolating.
Get out your parcels of beads and
the crafty notions you ve amassed,
blending the precious with the non-
precious to create fabulous jewelry.
MUSEUMS
CATWALKS
Jewelry was an integral
Creative use of materials
part of the runway looks
and techniques and an
unveiled last September
anything-goes approach to
and beginning to appear
jewelry design reflect an
in stores now. Designers
aversion to opulence, as
found inspiration in New York City, where museums
revealed in necklaces by
recently featured five jewelry exhibits.
Rossana Buriassi for Dolce &
Some highlights:
Gabbana that appeared on the 2003-04
American jewelry in the 1790s
Autumn/Winter catwalks. All pieces boasted plastic
Jewelry from India, including earplugs,
crescent-shaped foundations adorned with groups
nose rings, anklets, and braid covers
of bottle caps, key chains, CDs, or punchy pins
150 pieces by 20th century New York
( Pobody s Nerfect ). The trend artfully weaves
jeweler Seaman Schepps
non-jewelry into the complex fabric of fashion.
The American Craft Museum s
exhibit,  Treasures from the Vault:
Contemporary Jewelry from the
Permanent Collection, focusing on
artists from 1947 to the present who
advocate innovative techniques and
materials and shun the traditional
role of jewelry as a symbol of wealth
and social status
14 BEADSTYLE MARCH 2005



MAKING NONTRADITIONAL
IN PRINT
JEWELRY
W Posing in
Consider exploring Office Max or Lowe s
the African
for your beading supplies. Try the tag or
countryside,
fastener aisles for the unusual
hinge, clip, or handy Kate Moss wore:
gadget. Or visit crafters
necklaces created
haunts: yarn shops, sewing
from wooden
and quilting nooks, art
beads and tiny animal
supply stores, rock shops,
carvings; a utility-belt
and craft superstores. Then,
necklace with Chap Stick, Bracelet made
use your imagination  card
from a fork
sunscreen, a hunting knife, and
pockets for the librarian, dog and a nugget
sundries; and a supersized charm
of turquoise.
tags for the vet, pencil or eraser
necklace complete with fork. A
necklaces for the teacher  to
leather strip dangled a pop-top can lid from her ear.
connect your discoveries. Another option
is to scan your surroundings. Try the
Ornamenta Moda Bijoux  The Italian jewelry
junk drawer for stuff that will never
magazine s June issue focused on nontraditional
again find its home; the back of
the closet for a long-forgotten jewelry, such as:
trinket; sidewalks or construction
" felted wool, formed into round beads, then
sites for rusty bits of washers,
embroidered
twisted metal bands, or wonderful
" bejeweled conch and nautilus shells decorated
demolition sea glass. A well-
with seed beads, rhinestones, and pearls
patinated object will take on a new
" vintage Bakelite buttons
life in jewelry. Include a few gewgaws
" TNT (paper with a porous
in your next courageous design and you will have
Handi-Wipe texture) wired
an automatic conversation starter.
with mother-of-pearl
and rhinestones
" mixtures of
neoprene,
ON YOU
enameled charms,
Choose a neckline or silhouette that
dice, and tassels of light
complements the lines of the jewelry. Try a
fixture pull-chains
jewel neckline with a choker or a collarless shirt
with huge earrings.
Prada  Models
Keep clothing simple and monochromatic 
wore two offbeat
all black is always all right  so the jewelry is the
necklaces composed of
focal point.
cloth-tape segments
For themed jewelry,
connected by plastic chain
tie the theme of your
segments and strands
outfit with the
reminiscent of popcorn and
jewelry s materials,
shapes, or patterns. cranberry holiday garland. And
(See Chanel s
just out last season, Prada s futuristic, metallic robot
tennis ball shoe
tricks (clip-on embellishments) look more like the
for inspiration.)
newest toy than an adornment.
Sandra is chair of the fashion department at Mount Mary College, Milwaukee, WI. Contact her
in care of BeadStyle. Contact Brenda at Miss Cellany Jewelry Kits, brendaschweder.com.
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