Info : Do-It-Yourself Couture Awards

Like this year’s Spectrum Awards, the first do-it-yourself design competition, this year all the entries for the 2008 Couture Design Awards are available to view online at www.couturedesignawards.com. You can see the designs and vote in the “primaries” to select which designs will be nominated for the awards, which will be put to a vote at the show this year. The designs entered in the competition are an express-lane preview of the new styles that will be launched at Couture.

So what can we expect to see more of at Couture this year? Yellow gold dominates. There are a lot of great cuffs on display, from Armenta, Gurhan, Diana Heiman, Annie Fenterstock, Todd Reed, Sazingg, Fern Freeman, Konstantino, Jarretiere, and many more.

There are eleven categories in the Couture Awards, although a few don’t have many styles in competition. The most competitive categories are Gold and Haute Couture, which has some incredible pieces. The strength of the entries in the Newcomers category, open only to new exhibitors at Couture 2008, shows the strength of the show in continuing to attract interesting designers.

Who will win? Well, that’s for you to decide!

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On The Art of the Stack

While everyone else watching the MTV Video Music Awards last night was waiting for a Britney Spears You Tube moment, we were, of course, focused on the jewelry. Britney, for example, was showing off a Hellmuth ring and diamond studs (as well as a noticeable lack of grace) at the new-format awards show held for the first time in Las Vegas. Jewelry trends at the awards were much less chaotic than the new format, which switched back and forth between parties in suites, a main stage, table tops, and balconies. The focus on the wrist continues: the most popular jewelry look last night was stacked bangles and other bracelets, either in gleaming gold or diamond pave. The best dressed combined different styles of bracelets to make a unique statement. Bangles, link bracelets, pave, openwork, all were artfully stacked to show individual style. Once again, the winner of the red carpet sweepstakes is Lorraine Schwartz, jeweler-to-the-stars who also happens to be a very innovative designer, and joining her this year, her sister Ofira. No one else came close. Beyonce, in a gravity-defying (taped?) gold Grecian toga frock, wore Schwartz’ Monkey earrings and bracelets. (The Monkey collection is inspired by the classic Barrel Full of Monkeys game, but with a lot more diamonds.) Ashanti also wore Lorraine Schwartz diamonds while Jennifer Hudson and Mary J. Blige chose to wear the gold-intensive looks from Ofira. Other than the bracelet bandwagon, the next most important style statement was earrings. But any overall earring direction is still unclear, with hoops, studs, and chandeliers all seen at the awards. Also, as usual the Diamond Information Center had great success in placing plenty of diamond right-hand rings. All in all, a much dressier look than in past years, perhaps in tribute to the Las Vegas venue. It was much less boring than other awards shows, although the fight between Kid Rock and Tommy Lee during Alicia Key’s performance didn’t make it on the air. (Rock was actually cited for misdemeanor battery by the Las Vegas police.) In tribute to the more original look for MTV’s show, despite the Vegas venue, I managed to write this entire review without using either “bling” or “rocks.”

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