Bess

Carine Roitfeld is a fan of Bess, she has been spotted wearing one of their distinctive feather necklaces, a gothic concoction of lace, suede, and feathers that appear to be those of a raven. Bess was created in 2000 by Doug and Bess Abraham, by 2001 their pieces were being stocked by Harvey Nichols, Fred Segal, Bergdorf Goodman, and Barney's NY. The Abrahams opened the first Bess store in 2002. Now located at 292 Lafayette Street (between Prince and Houston), the space that Bess occupies formerly housed Keith Haring's Pop Shop.

Bess is known for bold, colorful jewelry made of precious and semiprecious stones frequently interwoven with rich, layered fabrics such as velvet and silk. For extra pleasure, they custom stud a variety of vintage apparel. In addition to working as a sculptor and jewelry designer, Doug also oversees the jewelry line produced by Ralph Lauren.

Other notable Bess fans include Alexander Wang, Alexandre Herchcovitch, Marc Jacobs, Hedi Slimane, Fabiola Beracasa, Vanessa Traina, Anna Sui, Domenico Dolce, Olivier Theyskens, and Erin Wasson. Bess Los Angeles is now open at 8166 Melrose Avenue and they plan to debut their collection at the upcoming New York Fashion Week, hopefully we will see Carine there showing her support.

Images from the Bess Autumn/Winter 2009 and  Spring/Summer 2010 collections © 2009 Bess NYC. All Rights Reserved.