Every year in September, New York City buzzes with a bonanza of designers, models and glamorous events. These artists showcase months of creative work and talent, concluding in a fast-paced fashion show for editors and buyers. This year, I participated in New York Fashion Week for the first time!  Though backstage was chaos, it was a truly electrifying experience to see my jewels featured on the runway of such an iconic American fashion event.

A couple of weeks before the big event, I got a call from famed designer Kevan Hall, asking if I would be interested in pairing up my jewelry with his Spring 2023 clothing line. I was ecstatic– Kevan is a legend in the fashion industry – and I love his style, so of course, I said YES!

Kevan’s debuting collection, Hotelito, was no exception to his history of beautiful clothing. Inspired by a vacation to Mexico, his Spring ’23 collection embodied colorful, bold, and elegant outfits with clean, crisp silhouettes. I loved his textured textiles and how wearable every outfit was. The vibe was fun yet confident, pulled together yet free. Each piece of the collection was the ideal match for my jewels.

We spent a day in Kevan’s Los Angeles Atelier, pairing up clothes to jewels and styling each look before we all headed to New York. It was exciting to see my jewelry through a fashion designer’s eyes. To observe which jewels of mine he picked out to highlight his clothes the best. The idea was to compliment the clothing, not overshadow it, but also not to have the jewels disappear into the background either. It was a combined sensory experience that each piece of jewelry and clothing work unanimously to pull the look together. Each look elevated my jewelry (and I think vice-versa, too)! The unique combinations breathed life into the looks.

My last blog mentioned how I love playing off the gem’s hues when picking an outfit.  New York Fashion Week was the opportunity to hone those skills under pressure.  For every model, Kevan and I had to choose one to three pieces of jewelry that complimented the outfit. However, this look was one of my favorites because I had the chance to experiment with adding multiple pieces to tie an outfit together. This dress was colorful and bold, so I played with that in layering three necklaces: Green/Green No.5, the Daily Pendant 604, and finished just in time for the show, the Envy Necklace. The tourmaline beads and malachites evoke the green of the dress, while the shimmering pink petalite of the Daily Pendant 604 highlights the soft pop of pink in the dress. I added further balance to the rosy hues by adding the Cotton Candy Earrings.

Witnessing the calm confidence of these stunning women strut down the runway, made an empowering statement. A statement that I want every DdeK jewelry owner to represent. Now, if only I could add the entire Hotelito collection to my wardrobe…