The rhythms of the world exist whether or not modernity has seen fit to erase our awareness of the physical world. Observing the celestial sphere has been a prime human task since the world was light only by fire. Traditions of The Sun helps us recapture this lineage. As we browsed the observatories we were reminded of the pyramid trends so prevalent now in jewelry. Lena Wald's Spike Ring in Silver evokes for us the striving Yucatan observatories with their cool gray stone layered to help us reach for the sky. And like the moon that reflects the sun's light in silver, these inspirations reflect back our natural world.

Earlier this week, we wrote about German designer, Marcel Ostertag and his high-end take on cheap downtown trends. If you're curious about the A/W 08 collection, which debuted at Berlin Fashion Week, here's a peek at the collection. This season, Ostertag stuck with patent materials, which appeared as bright leggings in S/S, but became more, ahem, substantial garments for A/W. For the palate, also similar to last season, there are pops of color, this time fuchsia and marigold, and a few metallic moments.

All images by Colin Stark.

Eugenie Huang, designer of Deka Ray, has the sort of look about her that you'd think, when she told you she made jewelry, that she's just a fun New York gal of good taste and where-with-all. You would think that because there are a lot of young people like that in New York City (or, perhaps, in any city). Being young, pretty, and ambitious usually means you've some sort of thriving business going on, and that's perfectly fine. The aspect that's often missing, in a city where anyone can do anything, are the designers who treat their work as a craft, and who've dedicated their time to learn about it on a deeper (daresay, classical) level. When you see Huang's jewelry, or actually talk to her about her work, you realize that she is both the young ambitious designer who dresses well and knows a lot of people, and also someone who, if stripped of the superficial, would be genuinely intent on her craft.


Part of that difference comes from her educational background. With a B.S. in Architecture from M.I.T. and a Masters from Columbia, Huang has been trained to meditate on the relationship of spaces and materials and to create based on those findings. It's not as if, though, she'd been trained in Architecture simply to leave it for jewelry making, rather, it's been a childhood practice for her, and one that coincidently flourished when she pursued Architecture.


Here Huang talks to us about her work,


Aside from doing personal engagement ring commissions for friends, I generally shy away from precious stones because I believe more in design over high cost gems. I've been exploring using all sorts of different materials, more recently ship's rope twined with laser-cut lucite and wood, but decided to start my first series with the more traditional materials of oxidized silver and gold. I've gravitated towards the shapes of wings for years, and have produced a more stylized mix between machined fins and silhouetted bird wings. I wanted the forms to be somewhat familiar but not precisely real. something a bit otherworldly. I think of Deka Ray as being someone or something otherworldly landing in the woods of North Carolina [where I grew up] and gleaning ideas from this environment mixed with more futuristic notions about technology. Very much in line with the "future primitive" concept.


If you think of fashion as a craft and of yourself as a curator of these artistic manifestations, then a piece from Deka Ray would be treated as part of your collection. In other words, it would be stored carefully and worn well. Sometimes all it takes is a closer look to realize that some girls aren't just makin' jewelry.

If you haven't grown tired of the jumper phenomenon, may we suggest those by Mooka Kinney. These NYC gals whipped up a couple that were inspired by vintage swimsuits, the sort that you see in boutiques but never know just exactly how to pull off. Pair these with some Jil Sander sandals or some Frye boots, and you've got yourself an easy outfit. Rachel Antonoff and Alison Lewis are two pretty young things with a penchant for vintage. The pair keep it simple by designing with their favorite thrift store finds in mind, reimagining those special pieces with buttons and embroidery, silhouette alterations, or deadstock fabrics.