Haute and the City

Nearly one year ago, while I was working running around like a madman talking to media at the Fashion Fights Cancer gala I helped to organize and execute, I stopped short when I saw a woman dressed in some of the most interesting jewelry I had ever seen. That woman was the lovely accessories designer Karen Ko, president of Intersect Designs, a family a of jewelry brands that emphasizes creativity, design and innovation.

I came to learn more about one of Karen’s brands, k2o by Karen Ko, which was one of her edgier collections. k2o by Karen Ko is a jewelry collection for women who have a bit of a fine taste and want a luxury item, but a bit too independent with their style to be confined to diamonds and pearls.

k2o’s signature piece is the Avant Rock Spike Ankle Cuffs, which are used to dress up + glam out your heels. You can actually enter a giveaway to win a pair of ankle cuffs from FashionIndie.com here.

You can purchase k2o by Karen Ko pieces at the online boutique, Modern Mix.

Be sure to ‘like’ k2o by Karen Ko on Facebook!

Whether or not the chilly NYC weather will have you believe it or not, Spring is upon us! One of the best parts about the changing seasons is resurrecting your Spring wardrobe from the depths of your closet, and, of course,  shopping for Spring.

If you’re looking to add a bit of pop to your 2011 Spring wardrobe, try mixing it up with some gold jewelry. Need some guidance? Check out these spring 2011 jewelry trends from ShopNBC that can help guide you along the way:

Bold & Colorful Stones

Unsurprisingly, color is back for Spring! One of the more fun trends this season are the big, bold and colorful stones that were seen all over the Spring 2011 runways. Brighten your accessories collection with some bright colors. [Plus, you can never go wrong with a flower motif in Spring ]

Clean & Structured

Big and colorful a bit too much for your taste? No biggie! Keep it simple with sleek, structured gold pieces. Simple pieces, like the bracelet above, are chic, elegant and versatile.

Rose Gold

This oft-forgotten color of gold has been popping up everywhere lately. Beautiful and feminine, rose gold will also help set you apart from everyone wearing white & yellow!

What do you think, will you be glamming it up with some gold this Spring?

This post was developed in partnership with ShopNBC.

With the fall 2011 runway presentations safely behind us and the thermometers slowly creeping up to warmer temperatures, it’s time to revitalize your spring wardrobe!

But how do you spruce up your wardrobe without replacing all the clothes you own?

“Make it all about the accessories – get a good bag, shoes, jewelry,” advised Peter Davis, the new editor-in-chief of AVENUE Magazine at last week’s American Express Tweet-Up in the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week American Express Skybox Lounge.

For a one-of-a-kind accessory that’ll add some glitz and glam to your wardrobe (just in time for spring soirees!), try on a luxurious handmade bangle by ZEFFIRA.

All ZEFFIRA jewelry is hand-crafted in both Italy and America from buffalo horn (which ensures each piece is exclusive and one-of-a-kind) and the finest Swarovski crystals, creating a beautiful juxtaposition of refined natural material and elegant glamor.

ZEFFIRA’s designer, Vittoria Faccin, names each bangle design with an Italian name (such as “Clodette,” “Delicato” and “Fiore”), in homage to the jewelry’s Italian heritage.

“ZEFFIRA jewelry is created for a dynamic, self-confident, curious woman who bravely faces challenges. She is interested in experiencing the adventures life brings her, but is still feminine and stylish.” – Vittoria Faccin

In order to ensure exclusivity of your jewelry, only a limited number of each ZEFFIRA design is produced each year. You can purchase ZEFFIRA bangles online at www.ZEFFIRA.com and at select boutiques nationwide, including NYC’s Peter Elliot.

Follow ZEFFIRA on Twitter at @ZEFFIRAJewelry.

Disclosure: This post is an advertorial.

TGIF!!!

• Fashion Fund Winner – “Christopher Kane has won the 2011 BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund.”

• Jewelry: Unzip the Bling – “For high jewelry, made almost entirely by hand, technology is still part of the process, as computers are used to develop images and calculate geometric patterns. But the themes tend to focus on nature, suggested in the voluptuous, rounded shapes of animals and flowers. “

• Kenneth Cole Tries to Plug His Spring Line by Making Light of the Crisis in Egypt – … oops.

• The Cat in the Hat Comes Back – Time to get a hat, boys.

After attending a panel discussion entitled The Rise of Luxury Brands Online (which featured Maureen Mullen of L2 Think Tank, the great minds behind the L2 Digital IQ Index) presented by Fashion 2.0 earlier this week, I was inspired to continue on my analysis of the social media of The World’s 10 Most Powerful Luxury Brands with Cartier.

Cartier S.A., the French luxury jewelery, leather goods, watch and fragrance manufacturer, dates back to 1847. Cartier is an iconic symbol of elegance, rich history and, of course, extreme luxury with individual items selling for tens of thousands of dollars (such as the Cartier Large Americaine Tank LM Alligator Watch, pictured right).

However, this elegance hasn’t transferred completely smoothly online. For instance, the L2 Digital IQ Index: Luxury ranks Cartier at #44, stating “one of the biggest missed opportunities in digital.”

Yikes.

Let’s dive in!

Twitter

The Cartier Twitter page is a huge missed opportunity. Having not tweeted since March 2010, @Cartier has just more than 1,000 followers (a dismal number, considering the brand’s overall power).

At least the page is fairly well-branded?

Facebook

As the L2 Digital IQ Index notes, “Facebook page is more than 30,000 strong but no fan engagement.” Currently, the Cartier Facebook fan page boasts more than 50,000 fans, but still maintains very little engagement. The fan page appears to be updated approximately once a month (more so recently due to the Cartier Winter Tale promotion), which is definitely not enough.

Cartier appears to only update the Facebook with its promotional images and messages. Because the brand has very deep roots in tradition and elegance, it would not be appropriate for the Cartier community manager to maintain a Starbucks-like presence online.

However, Cartier is missing some big opportunities.

Like many French luxury brands, Cartier has done excellent work creating beautiful flash websites that create a luxury experience online. To translate this experience to Facebook, a far more interactive platform, Cartier needs to take small bits of content from their websites to “tease” their Facebook audience.

By using small bits of content, such as videos, images or even a unique Facebook tab on the page that changes with every promotion, Facebook fans will feel like they’re getting an exclusive preview into the brand.

Also, instead of just throwing up all the images and videos at one time, slowly rolling the content out over time will help keep fans engaged.

Futher, as I’ve said time and time again: integration, integration, integration! Why doesn’t the Facebook page even link to Cartier’s YouTube channel or Twitter page, or more prominently feature the current campaign?

YouTube

I actually really like Cartier’s YouTube channel. It’s extremely well-branded and interesting to peruse, while maintaining the overall Cartier online aesthetic.

Cartier clearly spends a lot of money creating their video campaigns, so their YouTube channel is an important asset to showcase this element of the brand. However, videos only date back six months, when I know for a fact Cartier has maintained a YouTube presence for MUCH longer (Cartier joined YouTube in 2006, according to the channel).

Where’d the other videos go??

Overall, Cartier should feel too bad about it’s social media presence.

Yeah, it isn’t good… BUT, as the L2 Digital IQ Index notes, the watch and jewelry sector pretty much blows at social media.

Hear that, Cartier?

There’s an opportunity to beat the competition!

What do you think of Cartier’s social media work? Was I too harsh? Also, how cute is the Winter Tale campaign?

cartier

So, one of the perks of being a fashion blogger (as opposed to a fashion journalist), I get to assault you with my opinions and any other little thought that flies through my brain.

Today, one of my completely biased opinions I will be sharing with you is about my favorite accessories designer EVER – Chris Habana.

I don’t even remember how I discovered Chris’s jewelry and accessories line, CHRISHABANA. It was certainly before I jumped on this fashion journey, probably back when I was in a work-induced coma.

I fell further in love when I attended a GenArt sample sale, during which I was broker than a joke and couldn’t buy anything (water, water everywhere…).

Because I love CHRISHABANA so much, I naturally had to write about it!

Chris graciously took some time recently to answer some interview questions so I could introduce him and his work to all of you! Be sure to check out his website.

What have you done so far today?

Woke up, showered, threw some stuff in a bag and headed out to Fire Island…I’m on the beach in Cherry Grove writing this at the moment.

How did you get started in designing accessories?

I’ve always been doing something in fashion since I could remember. When I moved to New York in 2000, I started to make recycled jewelry and fur pieces.  Seven [New York] picked up a few styles and it went from there. I was in and out of doing jewelry, also designing clothing for a bit, but it wasn’t till 2007 that I got more official and pursued CHRISHABANA as a real business.

What do you love about accessories?

I love that accessories and jewelry have a transformative effect. I’m also into the “more is more” philosophy so I feel naked when I don’t have at least 2 necklaces on and a wrist full of cuffs.

What inspires your designs?

My accessories and jewelry are heavily inspired by growing up in the late 80′s and early 90′s in San Francisco. I love the mix of POP elements from that time such as Madonna and Moschino with harder elements from underground movements such as punk, goth and house.

Do you do anything special while you work?

Nothing out of the ordinary, really. I sketch a lot, and have an inspiration board with tears that help shape my collections. When I take breaks, I walk around my neighborhood in the East Village to recharge and get re-inspired.

Do you have a favorite piece you’ve designed? If so, which?

Some of my signature pieces are actually my favorite to wear, such as the Cross Cuff and the Cage Cross Necklace, but I am also really into the Bed Of Nails Group from my FW2010.

Many pieces from your collections seem to reference a sort of gothic-glamour feel. Is this intentional?

Not really intentional to make it glamorous, but more intentional to make it POP. I want to translate goth and fetish into something that is more POP. In doing so, the results can sometimes be glamorous. That was the case when I designed the Bed of Nails group from FW2010. I created different forms and drove nails into them. When cast in my gunmetal and copper finishes, the nail heads look like organic, shimmering paillettes, till of course you get closer and realize they’re pretty bad-ass pieces.

What are your wardrobe staples right now?

I have a pair of 10-year old combat boots that I wear almost everyday, even in a heat wave. And of course, my jewelry.

What are your fashion pet peeves?

I hate when people say “dress it up, or dress it down with jeans.”

Where are you from originally?

Originally from the Philippines.

Why did you choose to live in New York?

Well, I always fantasized about New York and the art scene in the 80′s such as [Jean-Michel] Basquiat and Keith Haring. But I didn’t choose to move here. My boyfriend at the time got a transfer from his job to move to New York so I moved with him. I guess in a way, New York chose me.

If you could live anywhere but New York, where would it be and why?

Don’t make me a traitor to my home.

What’s your favorite thing about New York fashion?

That it’s always changing.

Where are your favorite places to shop in New York?

I wear and customize a lot of vintage, so I love going to flea markets, 10 Ft. Single and About Glamour. I’ve started to wear “newer” clothing from boutiques like Oak, so I guess I’m growing up…a little.

What’s your idea of a perfect New York night?

Having friends over to drinks and dress-up, then out to eat ramen at Rai-Rai Ken, then dancing, dancing, dancing.

You’ve had a lot of great success so far with CHRISHABANA. Where do you see yourself with your work in five years?

I try not to think about the future too much. I want to keep things as organic as possible. At this point, I’ve gotten a good amount of attention and support from press and shops and I am so thankful for that and hope it continues to grow.

Photos courtesy of MAO PR.