From the time she was 10 years old and fell in love with the sculptures of Henry Moore after seeing an exhibit of his work, Ippolita Rostagno has had a passion for art.
It helps that she was raised in a city that appreciates art — Florence, Italy — by an American mother and an Italian father. Now based in New York as a jewelry designer, she uses miniature sculpting tools such as chisels and hammers on precious stones and metals to craft her wearable art.
The designer, who uses only her first name professionally, was recently in Colorado for an appearance at Nordstrom. On a Sunday morning, she was the center of a lively swirl of female fans seeking her opinions on their jewelry choices, posing for photographs and trying on earrings, necklaces, rings and bracelets.
“It’s meant to be layered,” she said, slipping a long gold, crystal-encrusted chain over a customer’s head.
It’s also jewelry designed to be worn every day, not reserved for special occasions, she said. That’s one of the reasons women are fond of purchasing the jewelry for themselves. Prices start at about $150 for a simple pair of silver earrings, while the average gold item is about $1,200, she said. Every piece is made from scratch, by hand.
“It’s more of a self-purchase, but women also buy for their mothers and daughters,” Ippolita said. “Women no longer wait for someone to buy them jewelry as a gift.”
When she launched her label in 1999, stores weren’t sure where her jewelry should go. It didn’t look like traditional fine jewelry and it was higher in quality and price than costume jewelry. Stores like Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus now display her designs along with other fine fashion jewelry.
Her designs are driven by what’s happening in style and the world at large, she said. Ippolita considers the work of Dries Van Noten and the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen inspiring, “Because they have a point of view and the guts to use it.” She’s inspired by nature as well, creating pieces from such materials as shell and pearls. A gold bracelet looks like a twig; open work earrings resemble insect wings. She also layers stones over shell, which lends an opacity to the designs unlike anything else in the market.
New for the winter season are selections in black rhodium and blue topaz, materials that look more cutting-edge than classic. In addition to silver, gold, resin and rhodium, Ippolita uses a rosé metal, which gets its pinkish cast from 18-karat rose gold layered over a gold and silver alloy.
Among Ippolita’s signature pieces are delicate gold bangle bracelets, and she’ll wear 15 at a time. Instead of being loud, they have an almost musical quality when she moves her wrist.
“Jewelry, like art, should appeal to all the senses,” she said. “It needs to feel good, look good. I ask, ‘Does it pass the test?’ ”
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
