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I always say “when all else fails, slap on a cool piece of jewelry and it will make everything better”. Luckily we are surrounded by an abundance of amazing jewelry designers these days. There are so many I can barely keep from overdrawing my bank account. Following is the “COOL JEWELRY REPORT”… Hey, I couldn’t think of any other name.

MARI FUNAKI

Numero uno on my list is Mari Funaki, Sydney-based jewelry designer by way of Japan. It’s actually an insult to include Ms. Funaki on this list since she’s been, like, an Australian Jewelry legend and mentor for over 30 years now! But I had to include her incase you’ve never heard of her.

Never have I seen someone so masterfully interpret architecture into jewelry. This is because Funaki is not only a designer, she’s an artist and gallery director of the Gallery Funaki in Melbourne. She used mild steel to create sculptural bracelets, rings, and even containers. She lets basic shapes distort themselves to create magical pieces and her industrial-inspired work simply speaks for itself.

www.galleryfunaki.com.au

BIJULES

Who needs acrylic nails when you can wear gold serpants instead?! Bijules, an NY-based jewelry designer, gives us these little gems as part of the Serpensive collection. It doesn’t stop here, though. The current collections also include “hairrings”, part of the Hairem collection and my personal favorite the Bar rings, part of the signature collection.

www.bijulesnyc.com

RENATA MANN

For your more bohemian side, check out jewelry designer, RENATA MANN. I appreciate this designers use of kind of otherwise boring materials like abalone shells that she turns into fun crafty yet very high-end necklaces. Not to mention the knit-covered abalone necklace comes with any color thread over them! Another favorite of mine is the knitted bauble necklace which comes in a multitude of colors. Stones are in-cased in colorful knitted material. It’s almost like the artist’s way of protecting each stone in its own little pouch!

www.renatamann.com

-Camille L.

1. America’s Next Top Model is a battlefield.

2. You can’t let a Roman gladiator F up your shoot.

3. Anya should win. These remaining episodes feel like a formality.

4. If Tyra tells you she’s your “Mama.” Run away.

5. Wow, Saleisha, a Canadian sportswear line!

6. Tyra will use any excuse to strike a pose.

7. Tyra is crazy, but she can work high-waisted jeans.

8. If we were in Egypt, Katarzyna would be perfect.

9. A “busted, broken-down waistline” is a good thing in the world of modeling.

10. Poor Katarzyna. Yuck to Whitney.

Is it just me, or is Christian Siriano turning out to be the most visible Project Runway winner ever? Well, he’s easily the most talented, and he’s certainly a firecracker, so it makes sense that he’d be everywhere. He deserves it.

He also deserves high-paying gigs, and I’m just going to assume that his latest project–designing a mini collection of clothing for Puma with British singer Estelle–is just that.

Oh! I do need to call lame on one thing. Wasn’t it lil’ Christian who was complaining about celebrity designers just a couple of weeks ago? Hmmph…Well, he’s calling Estelle his muse, and he made that dress she’s wearing–it’s the first piece of the collection.

I like Estelle, and I urge you to watch her new video with Kanye. It’s fun.

–Valentina

Aw! Here’s Jenny Lewis looking cute as a button at Coachella–WWD even put her on today’s cover.

I didn’t go to Coachella this year, but I’ve been a whole bunch of times before.  Let me tell you, even if John Lennon and George Harrison were resurrected, and The Beatles did a reunion, I’d still probably say “Eh, it’s too hot.”

I’m an old lady–I like my comforts.

–Valentina

Sometime an outfit is so crazy that it surpasses “interesting” and makes a u-turn back to snorsville.  Lil’ Mama, are we having fun yet?

–Valentina

Just yesterday I was looking at one of the frumpy old t-shirts I wear to the gym, and I thought, jesus, I should really order some decent shirts from American Apparel.  And, quite delightfully, when I went on their site today to do just that, I noticed they were giving 10% off all their organic stuff until May 1.  That includes shirts, undies and baby clothes.

Ten percent isn’t that much, but if you buy $50 worth of stuff, you also get free shipping…so that’s something.  Stock up in a sustainable fashion (wah-wah-wah).

–Valentina

Everyone knows that Louis Vuitton hates copycats, but this is ridiculous.

Artist Nadia Plesner started her Simply Living campaign last October, selling posters and shirts depicting a Darfur victim. The twist is that the victim channels Paris Hilton, while carrying a chihuahua and a designer bag.

Her thought process for the project was this:

My illustration Simple Living is an idea inspired by the medias constant cover of completely meaningless things. My thought was: Since doing nothing but wearing designerbags and small ugly dogs appearantly is enough to get you on a magasine cover, maybe it is worth a try for people who actually deserves and needs attention.

One hundred percent of the profits go to Divest for Darfur, a foundation that helps the victims of the genocide. Pretty awesome, right?

Well, Louis Vuitton doesn’t think so.

According to Plesner’s website, the luxury goods company sent her a letter in February, demanding that she end the campaign immediately and referring to her website as “Exhibit 1.” Like any self-respecting artist, Plesner told them she wouldn’t comply with their request. So…..on April 15, they slapped her with a lawsuit. The company, which is known for aggressively fighting LV fakes, has demanded:

• $7,500 for each day that Plesner continues the charity campaign
• $7,500 for each day their letter is published on her website
• $7,500 a day for using the Louis Vuitton name on her website

And that’s not all. They also want her to pay for their lawyers and $15,000 for damages.

I’m sorry to not be more eloquent, but they’re really a bunch of dicks. I don’t really buy their intellectual property argument. This is art, and it’s not even being sold for profit but, rather, to help human beings who are living under horrific conditions.

I find it totally frustrating that Louis Vuitton promotes their brand and image as iconic, practically acting like their product is integral to our civilization, but then pulls this kind of stuff when an artist portrays it as such. They can’t have it both ways. If they want to sell their goods as symbols of luxury, they should expect that artists would contrast that with symbols of human suffering.

They should be happy that their symbol is earning money for a worthy cause. Now go buy the stuff.

-Valentina

Source.

I’ve been marveling at the hair of the women of FLDS, too, so I laughed out loud when I read this on WOW Report:

“Say what you will about their lifestyle, but these non-fiction Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints wives, with their eccentric, perfectly upswept coifs and hand-tailored, ankle-length frocks, are just as self-consciously fashionable as anything galloping down the runways of Paris and Milan.”

What products do they use?

-Valentina

I love colored denim, but I hate that most jeans that come in interesting colors are of the skinny variety–jeans as leggings don’t really work for me.

I’m the queen of wanting for the impossible, so I’ve kept my eyes open for years, but deep down I always kind of figured my quest for bright jeans with a little flare was nothing more than a sad, hopeless venture.

Enter: Bishop of Seventh’s Cashmere Twill jeans. I love the silhouette of this style and the color makes me want to get drunk on Blue Hawaiians. Delicious! Also, I was pleased as punch to find out that Bishop of Seventh is an LA-based company–fashion design in Los Angeles is really shaping up.

They also come in a vibrant red.

-Valentina

Photo courtesty of Bishop of Seventh

Here are some of the top stories on Threadtrend this week:

Steve Madden rips of Balenciaga with this yuck of a shoe.

Tom Ford gets banned in Italy for this ad.

Topman and Wonder Workshop give us the Rock tee.

Walmart messes up Op, calling on Rumer Willis and Pete Wentz for help.

Vogue Italia shoots an all-Black issue. Let’s hope it’s not a passing fad.

The Coppolas pose for Louis Vuitton. Who doesn’t love a Coppola