Elsa Peretti Scorpion Pendant

Carine Roitfeld is renowned for her style, classic with a twist, and her beloved Elsa Peretti scorpion necklace suits her aesthetic perfectly. The elegant metallic scorpion collar pendant is crafted of articulated segments with the menacing claws encircling the neck and the tail poised on the chest in a dangerous flick, so Carine… Designed by Elsa Peretti for Tiffany & Co. in 1979, the curious necklace resulted from her obsession with the scorpions living near her home in Catalonia. The artist shares her inspiration: "While working in Sant Martí Vell, I came across a lot of scorpions. The animals are incredibly attractive, with fascinating mechanics. Strangely they are never around when I need to review something in my design. I have to confess that I had to sacrifice a few. I feel sorry."

Carine acquired this treasured piece years ago and stored it in her bank vault for safekeeping until recently when she retrieved it so she could wear it again. One reason she loves the scorpion is because it reminds her of her partner, Christian Restoin, as Scorpio is his astrological sign; I adore her sweet sentimentality. Carine refers to herself as a collector of the designer's work and also among the treasures in her jewelry box is the Elsa Peretti bottle pendant.

Carine met Elsa Peretti once and remembers her as an amazing woman with an amazing (albeit masculine) voice, she considers the jewelry designer a big talent and one of her big icons. Carine also thinks of Peretti as a muse for the first issue of CR Fashion Book, she styled the editorial "Elsa" in her likeness, casting Catherine McNeil as Peretti as shot by Kacper Kasprzyk in a New York apartment that formerly belonged to Halston. I wonder if McNeil is wearing Carine's own Elsa Peretti scorpion pendant for the editorial… Tiffany & Co. continues to produce the scorpion necklace but in a slightly different variation, it now hangs on a 15.5" inch chain and is cast in either gold or sterling silver. Be sure to view "Scorpion Queen" on CR Fashion Book in which Carine Roitfeld discusses Elsa Peretti and her scorpion pendant.

Elsa Peretti scorpion collar pendant photo courtesy of Tiffany & Co. Carine Roitfeld photos courtesy of Fashion Spot. "Elsa" editorial image by Kacper Kasprzyk for CR Fashion Book.

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.

Decades

Carine Roitfeld's favorite store is Decades on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles, a trove of priceless vintage treasures from the past few decades by designers such as Azarro, Balenciaga, Chanel, Christian Dior, Fendi, Gucci, Halston, Hermès, Lanvin, Pucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Louis Vuitton. The building itself is also a treasure, a 1926 Art Deco beauty in beige tones, complete with leopard carpeted staircases. Owned by Cameron Silver, Decades boasts a sister boutique in London’s Dover Street Market. If you are in the mood to covet, visit the Decades blog and watch the fabulous vintage finds come and go.

Images courtesy of Decades, Inc.

Compression by César

Have you noticed the unusual gold pendant that Carine Roitfeld wears frequently? This striking vintage piece is one of a limited series of "Compressions" made by César in 1971 for the jeweler Pascal Morabito. César Baldaccini, usually known simply as César, was a noted French sculptor at the forefront of the Nouveau Réalisme movement. He is famed for his radical compressions of materials such as compacted automobiles, discarded metal, or rubbish; his expansions such as his polyurethane foam sculptures; and his fantastic representations of animals and insects.

César's early work used junk materials and soldered and welded metal. In 1960 on a visit to a scrap yard in search of metal, he noticed a hydraulic crushing machine in action and he decided to begin experimenting with the element of compression in his sculpture. He selected the cars used for each of his compressions, mixing elements from vehicles of different colors. In this way he found he could control the surface pattern and color scheme of the piece. César astonished art lovers by exhibiting three crushed cars at a Paris show and he became renowned for these compressions. His later works also include sculptures made from molten crystal.

Carine Roitfeld wearing Compression pendant by César photograph by Inez van Lamsweerde et Vinoodh Matadin courtesy of Purple Fashion No. 5