Tuesday 9 July 2013

Featured Designer: Annelise Michelson



Compellingly dark, dangerous femininity is at the glittering core of rising jewellery icon Annelise Michelson's distinctive pieces. A soft, feminine sensibility with a bewitchingly tough and menacing edge haunts the French fashion darling's work, making Michelson's inimitable necklaces, bracelets and ear adornments popular with high-fashion, often leftfield trendsetters including The Kills Alison Mosshart, Alexa Chung, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green, Adrian Brody, Zelda Williams and Robin Wright-Penn.
Born in Paris to artist parents, Annelise first developed her very own, distinct aesthetic through close relationships with talented artists and craftspeople during her youth and young adulthood. She cites her godfather, a professional tailor, as a crucial influence on her creative development. Surrounded by beauty and inspiration, Michelson seems to have had very little option but to create. She graduated from Paris's Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture before going on to work with high fashion houses Lolita Lempika, Hermes, Paul & Joe and Vanessa Bruno.

It was not until friend and famed stylist Carine Riotford asked her to create one-off, bespoke pieces for a French Vogue shoot, that Michelson uncovered her vocation. Since launching her very first collection in October 2010, Annelise's sensational costume jewellery, made exclusively from French materials, has appeared in countless fashionable publications and has been seen bedecking the glamorous arms, necks and ears of many of the fashion world's elite. Her latest collection, Carnivore, is now available, though only a limited number of pieces have been produced. 
Annelise's Inspirations

Masculinity, femininity, power, danger, softness, sensuality and a glamorous androgyny all contribute to the ultra-desirable, high-contrast aesthetic at play in
http://www.avenue32.com/designers/annelise-michelson Annelise Michelson's quirky designs and perfectly calibrated pieces. This is jewellery which blithely toes the line between the feminine and the butch, the gothic and the girlish; all without ever putting an elegant foot wrong. The designer has her bohemian upbringing and Parisienne haute couture education to thank for her well-developed, articulate aesthetic sensibilities. Faultless Gallic design and craftsmanship, meanwhile, certainly exert their influence on Annelise's entirely French, handmade pieces.

The Carnivore Collection

It is another, rather better established French icon who inspired Michelson's latest Carnivore collection. Marie Antoinette, who the designer describes as “feminine, yet dangerous”, heavily influenced the carnivorous tooth-like, crown-shaped rings, decadent rosary-meets-bondage leather and gold necklaces and stand-out, statement ear wear. The collection has been met with rapturous critical approval and, as each piece is a limited edition, a certain fevered devotee-ism. As Annelise's array of admirers continues to grow and to covet her stunning pieces of jewellery, her reputation as an effortlessly chic, upcoming jewellery maven becomes increasingly concrete.

Trend to Watch: Ear Cuffs

It's rare that a wholly new, wearable jewellery concept comes into existence, yet the ear cuff has been a crucial trend in recent months, decorating the cartilages of many of the most fashionable and fabulous. For a look which lends glamour but not fussiness, try Annelise Michelson's sharply geometric, triangular, gold-plated cuff. Wear with a messy, flyaway updo to expose the prettiest part of the ear.