NEW YORK — Diane von Furstenberg can now wrap herself in diamonds.
The designer best known for her signature wrap dresses is venturing into jewelry by teaming up with Rio de Janeiro-based jeweler H. Stern for the Diane von Furstenberg by H. Stern collection.
While design specifics are being kept under wraps for the official press preview in June, the launch collection, which is expected to hit H. Stern’s Fifth Avenue flagship in October, will consist of about 44 pieces in 18-karat yellow gold, diamonds and other precious stones.
“People will recognize the pieces because they are bold and strong, with lots of big rings and big links,” von Furstenberg said, in an exclusive interview. “Jewelry is a passion of mine and I have collected jewelry all my life…Art Deco jewelry 30 years ago when no one wanted it, then Forties jewelry, then Indian jewelry. If I hadn’t been in fashion, I probably would have become a jewelry buyer.”
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Von Furstenberg joins a growing number of designers and fashion houses with jewelry ambitions, including Calvin Klein Inc., which just inked a license deal with Swatch Group AG for CK Calvin Klein jewelry, and Vera Wang, who launched a fine jewelry collection last year in a partnership with Rosy Blue Fine.
This is H. Stern’s first collection with an American ready-to-wear designer — though the idea of bringing in a designer from a different field has played a part in the company’s 59-year history. In the Eighties, H. Stern created a collection with Catherine Deneuve, and more recently, it collaborated with Brazilian furniture design firm Campana Brothers and singer Carlinhos Brown.
Von Furstenberg said designing jewelry has always been a dream of hers and she always wanted to do it with H. Stern. She admitted to courting founder Hans Stern unsuccessfully for 25 years, and was only able to strike a deal when she met his son, Roberto, who is H. Stern’s current president and chief designer.
“I had to work on him,” she quipped. “I finally seduced him and now they’re very excited.”
The collection, which will retail for $600 to $35,000, will launch at H. Stern’s New York flagship in October and will then be rolled out to the company’s 160 stores in 12 countries. An advertising campaign in fashion and lifestyle magazines will support the collection starting in October.
“We will not yet wholesale the collection,” said Roberto Stern, who couldn’t give sales projections for the line. “It’s all handmade and we cannot go for quantities.”
Von Furstenberg, meanwhile, said she is considering doing special trunk shows in her boutiques in New York, Paris, London and Miami.
“To a woman, a piece of jewelry is like a weapon,” she said. “If you have a big ring, you could really hurt someone. It’s a shield, a protection, an insurance, an ornament. It’s certainly a sign of who she is and a sign of her personality.”