Ken Robinson of Robinson Designer Goldsmith, New Zealand’s most innovative fine jeweller and a long-time friend of Lucire, has been on a quest to get his gravity-defying designs in diamonds and precious gems into the hands and ensembles of top Hollywood talent. This journey led him to join forces with savvy event planner Anita Talbert (another friend of the Lucire family) for their dazzling precursor to Lozzi’s landmark Night of 100 Stars Oscar night viewing party at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
In some ways, our beloved Ken followed in the footsteps of fellow Kiwi Sir Peter Jackson, as he headlined this show and was a real-life Lord of the Rings, as well as earrings, pendants, necklaces, bracelets, and other stellar offerings—forged into rainbow hued skulls, whimsical animals, flora, fauna and a few sparkling butterflies that looked as if they came right out of the mind of Mariah Carey (in fact, Ken had her in mind when designing those exquisite sparklers). He scored points with such luminaries as Natalie Cole, Jason Ritter, Lou Diamond Phillips, Charlene Tilton and others.
While Ken’s star shined bright in the land where Harry Winston once roamed the earth, other, others were on the rise, from LA-based Aussie couturière Kelly A. Swartz to the classic earthy gold and silver creations from Taber Studios, to art glass and silver treasures by Florida-based Accessoreez and casually dressy bling from i-Catcher by Vanessa Swarovski (granddaughter of Daniel Swarovski), to the supple Gucci-inspired bags from Cape Cod Leather (back from their triumphant appearance at the Distinctive Assets Grammy party), and swanky selection from our friend Charlie Lapson and vegan carry-alls from Montréal-based CherryBerry.
Anita also beckoned some other fabulous cast members, including stunning architectural eyewear from Italy’s Oberti (whose offices are Miami-based), sexy sportswear from Green Apple, Beach Bunny and Bejeweled, ShoeDazzle (Kim Kardashian’s new shoe-of-the-month club), Kathy Wilson Atelier’s modern formal wear and top European skin care lines Pevonia and Yonka. The cherry on top for this sweet affair was a cinematic Karaoke machine from Youstar, a fantastic personal green screen system sure to keep movie buffs entertained until the 2011 Academy Awards and their home version of Night of 100 Stars.—Elyse Glickman