News & Blog
The Ultimate Showstopper
When the fabulous Alexis Saint-Pete asked us to create a bespoke outfit for her ultimate Ru Paul's Drag Race runway look, we were thrilled! Our head designer Nathalie, designed and created the incredible crystal extravaganza below.
“The Alexis”
Festive Shopping
12- 8pm
Vanity Fair and the V&A
As we mentioned last month, Vicki was delighted to see our Beyonce headpiece in the Victoria & Albert's new show: DIVA. This incredible piece, alongside another VICKISARGE showstopper (created for Rihanna's Savage Fenty Show in 2019) will now feature in the V&A's permanent collection. We are utterly thrilled and so grateful to have been included in this recent curation. All thanks to designer Emefa Cole, appointed the inaugural curator of jewellery (Diaspora) in September 2022, who has brought a vibrant new energy to one of London's best known museums.
This month Vanity Fair has a dedicated feature on Emefa Cole's contribution to the V&A and VICKISARGE has a mention too!
Guess Who's In The V&A's New Show?
Last night Vicki attended to glamourous opening night of the Victoria & Albert's new show: DIVA. A fabulous new exhibition celebrating the power of iconic performers, from Rihanna and Tina Turner to Elton John and Marilyn Monroe.
Vicki pictured below with Sandy Powell OBE, costume designer extraordinaire!
Don't forget to get your tickets - this is a must see show! We also have an exclusive VICKISARGE collection ready to be purchased in the V & A boutique.
Hello 2023. A Welcome Note From Vicki.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Season, I’m feeling very positive about 2023. Let’s all hope for life to get back on course and for a brighter year ahead.
We are very close to launching our online rental service, our most spectacular pieces will soon be able to adorn you for an evening or special event! Keep your eyes peeled for the official launch.
This year is also important to me as I will be celebrating 40 years in the jewellery industry! We will be planning some exciting events to mark this landmark in my career. How wonderful to have spent four decades doing what I love, I look forward to celebrating with you all.
Our Latest Collaboration With Tim Walker
Creative collaborations are the very heartbeat of VICKISARGE and Vicki has worked with some of the best over the years, Tim Walker being a strong favourite. We now reveal our latest endeavor with the prolific dream weaver himself, a hauntingly beautiful music promo for the artists Hercules & Love Affair and ANOHNI.
Designing to Gerry O'Kane's vision, a jewellery interpretation incorporating dance, beauty and gender fluidity, we created the bespoke crystal body adornments featured in the poetic visuals. Our crystal chest adornments, Belt of Venus and bejewelled thong look sensational amongst this visual feast. We are thrilled to have been involved in such an artistically powerful piece.
Previously VICKISARGE has worked with Tim Walker on a number of beautiful projects, most notably a W magazine shoot featuring the sublime Tilda Swinton in our bespoke face masks.
Did you know that the custom pieces we create for such inspiring collaborations are often available for rental? We will keep you posted on these beauties!
Cocktails & Jewels
Thank you to all who attended our cocktail party at The Chapel last night. Our Oriel Harwood sculpted ladies enjoyed watching over the fun and WOW Bea's cocktails packed a punch!
Don Carlos For New York's MET Opera
Now we have settled into our new headquarters at The Chapel, we are looking forward to sharing an array of exciting projects we've recently been involved in.
The first one, and the one of which I am most proud, is jewellery design for the new production of Don Carlos at the New York Metropolitan Opera. You can watch the trailer for this gorgeous new production here (scroll to the bottom of the site's page.)
We were approached by the supreme costume designer Brigitte Reiffenstuel. The costumes reflected the Medieval and Religious background of the opera, everything is rich and sumptuous and our creations compliment the luxurious fabrics perfectly. Brigitte is a dream to work with - she is so creative, clear and professional. I hope that our working relationship will go on for a long time. The whole experience was an utter joy.
As well as the live shows, Don Carlos will be screened across UK cinemas on the 26th March. Full details can be found on the MET's site. And in addition - we will be creating a small collection inspired by this project after this screening. We will let you know as soon as the collection is available, so watch this space.
I will be sharing our next endeavours shortly...it's certainly been an exciting and inspiring start to 2022!
Latest Exhibition Visits
Last week Vicki visited an array of exhibitions around London. 'It's such a joy to have our art galleries and museums open again and I have indulged in not one but three beautiful shows recently. I enjoyed them all immensely, they all had very different vibes!'
'Reflecting on six decades of a practice that disregarded established hierarchies and boundaries between disciplines, Isamu Noguchi stated in 1988 that “Art for me is something which teaches human beings how to become more human.” This exhibition, drawing from the collection of The Noguchi Museum in New York, as well as private and public collections, focuses on Noguchi as a global citizen and his risk-taking approach to sculpture as a living environment. Over 150 works are presented, including an extraordinary range of sculptures—made in stone, ceramics, wood, and aluminium—as well as theatre set designs, playground models, furniture, and lighting'
BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE at the Fashion Textile Museum.
'Beautiful People explores fabulous and rare examples from the era-defining stores and designers of 1960s London, including Granny Takes A Trip, Hung On You, Apple, Biba, Thea Porter, Ossie Clark and more'.
YAYOI KUSAMA - INFINITY ROOMS at the Tate Modern.
'Infinity Mirrored Room – Filled with the Brilliance of Life is one of Kusama’s largest installations to date and was made for her 2012 retrospective at Tate Modern. It is shown alongside Chandelier of Grief, a room which creates the illusion of a boundless universe of rotating crystal chandeliers.'
All images taken by Vicki.
The Piaget Design Competition.
Earlier this year, while Covid restrictions kept my boutique closed and London was as quiet as I had ever known, I was fortunate to be immersed in teaching work. In a wonderful alignment of past consultancy projects, a perfect assignment was suggested to me by Elizabeth Fischer from HEAD (Haute Ecole d’Art et de Design in Geneva). Annually, the second year students of HEAD work on a Design Project sponsored with Piaget. This year Piaget brought together HEAD students with the latest school set up by Turquoise Mountain in AlUla Saudi Arabia. Having worked for many years with both institutions I was delighted to be involved!
The Piaget Design Competition is an initiative created to support and invest in the artisanal talent of Saudi Arabia’s next generation of creatives. For the past nine years, Piaget has worked with HEAD – Genève on initiatives recognizing and fostering the creativity of students from around the world. In 2021, the Piaget Design Competition took place to Madrasat Addeera in AlUla with the objective of reviving design principles rooted in heritage through mentoring and fostering of local talent.
This was then followed by a presentation to the students in AlUla. The school is sponsored by the The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) and run by The Turquoise Mountain team. I had worked with Harriet Stiles previously in Saudi Arabia and she worked alongside the inspiring Issraa Alrayess. Both are highly competent in their fields and it was such a pleasure to be part of their team.
This was the first year the school has been running and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was surprised how engaged the Saudi students were and how quickly they were able to interpret their personal love for this area, which I believe is part of their souls.
The highlight of the project was to have the AlUla students present their work to the Geneva students for mentoring before their final presentation to the Jury. I enjoyed every minute of this work. The students were all so talented and enthusiastic. The teams I worked alongside are an inspiration. It had so much feel good factor and made the final part of my lockdown magnificent.
Keeping Calm In Turbulent Times
Walking
I can’t run outdoors but I love walking. During the Spring/Summer I managed three walks a day. Now that’s it gets dark so early I only manage two. The parks in London are wonderful, I’ve enjoyed getting to know them better these past months. One thing I have enjoyed seeing this year, despite its difficulties, is people really getting into exercise. I’ve seen so many more folk walking in parks and getting outside. Let’s hope some of these new habits stick and we can become a healthier nation. This could put less strain on our beautiful NHS.
Yoga
I’ve discovered Adrienne and her dog Benji on You Tube. It’s all very simple exercises and there are loads, so you can structure this around how you’re feeling and what you require on that particular day.
Cooking
I, very fortunately, live with my daughter Bea and we’re both good cooks, both specialising in different cuisines, so it never gets boring! I’d say our biggest change in food is buying local. We have discovered an incredible Butcher in East Dulwich, Moxon’s Fishmonger and all our local Greengrocers and Turkish food shop’s. Beatrice loves the local Korean and Vietnamese shops.
Television
Most of our evenings centre around the television! Although I am usually making jewellery, or knitting while I watch, so it still feels productive. Victoria, our PR, has asked me to list my current favourites...
Small Axe by Steve McQueen. First and foremost, if you haven’t seen this outstanding group of five short films, you are short changing yourself. We are so blessed to have had the BBC commissioning these. I felt honoured to watch them on my sofa.
Babylon Berlin I discovered this series in the first lockdown. Yes it’s subtitled and in German and yes it’s hard to find ( I watched it on Sky) but atmospheric and wonderful.
The Queen’s Gambit A more recent addition to my favourite list - who knew Chess could be such a compelling subject! The costumes are an inspiration.
The Serpent I love a bit of creepy tension. Amazingly done and a real page turner, it’s impossible not to binge.
Bridgerton Is my current watch, it's certainly nice escapism. The locations are beautiful, costumes fabulous and such an energetic cast!
Lockdown Two. Our boutique is closed, but not for long.
Well the last few months have been pretty special, it’s been a joy to greet you in our little boutique, to catch up and chat as you try on fabulous jewellery. We’ve been delighted with your continued support and so pleased those who couldn’t join in person, still had fun with video appointments.
From today (Thursday 5th Nov) our Elizabeth Street boutique will close the doors for one month. BUT dear friends….we will be back in December with ALL the SPARKLE and BLING you could possibly desire. A boutique dripping with Christmas treats and Christmas cheer.
Please keep an eye on our Instagram and Facebook as we will be sharing some lovely little (closed) shop tours, behind the scenes and ‘how to wear’ it videos in the coming weeks! We will be adding many new items to VICKISARGE.com. It will be positively brimming with beautiful pieces. So whether you are looking for ‘Zoom’ friendly earrings, or a pick-me-up, or a head start on Christmas shopping – we have it all!
The online store will be functioning as normal and we are offering a free click and collect service for those local to the boutique. Just select the ‘pick up’ option at checkout and we will be in touch to arrange a collection time. A virtual tour of the closed shop, so you can see pieces in more detail or receive our personal advice is possible too. Please get in touch if this is of interest and we will do our very best to accommodate you within the guidelines.
We are at your service, we will miss you. But we can do this! Thank you again all for all the support and love. We look forward to opening our doors again next month!
Our ladies will be waiting patiently for you...