RAPAPORT... In an unprecedented event, king of bling jewelry designer Chris Aire held the first-ever jewelry-only fashion show — Red Hot, Red Gold® — as part of Olympus Fashion Week in New York City in September. Aire’s sparkling show was held in the Bryant Park tents, ending day one of Fashion Week on a glittering note. Models paraded down the runway bejeweled in Aire’s signature diamond pavé dog tags, tri-tags, rec-tags and eternity-tags, which hung from the neck, swung from the wrist and shimmered on the ankle. Diamond Riveres were dripping down the front and back of models as they sashayed their way along the catwalk. Big diamond rings and strands of pearls with Aire’s proprietary Red Gold beads graced the hands and wrists of models along with hexagon-shaped diamond bracelets from his new Feng Shui collection. And for those models on a tight Fashion Week time schedule, Aire showcased his collection of Aire Traveler Timepieces. The grand finale featured a bikini handcrafted in Red Gold and an evening gown woven of Red Gold and shimmering in 5,500 carats of diamonds worth more than $40 million. The evening finished with a performance by Mos Def, who rapped on the political scene and the forgotten Hurricane Katrina victims in New Orleans. For Chris Aire, it’s all about love, peace and a lot of sparkle.
In other Fashion Week news, the glamour quotient turned to megawatts when apparel designer Oscar de la Renta chose to accessorize his Spring 2007 collection with diamond jewelry from William Goldberg. Models walked the walk decked out in pieces ranging in price from $200,000 to $500,000. Oscar de la Renta also selected timepieces from the “Master” and “Reverso” series from Swiss watchmaker Jaeger-LeCoultre. Watches have become one of the most important accessory trends over the past couple of years.
Perennial favorite Judith Ripka hosted a boutique in the Bryant Park tents. Editors could peruse her jewelry during breaks from the shows and stylists as well as publicists could view the collection and choose pieces to dress their clients. The boutique featured a selection of one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - October 2006. To subscribe click here.