Monique Péan and Caroline Issa
The heritage maisons of the Place Vendôme might be hauling out the heavy artillery this week, but Monique Péan is hardly daunted. The New York-based jewelry maker has built a following for her particular style of sustainability-minded, ethical “slow design” creations. And she has some heavy artillery of her own, thank you very much. Until now, bits of woolly-mammoth bone, dating from roughly 150,000 years ago, were the oldest elements in her creations. But in her new Atelier line, the designer is turning out rings set with polished-up, museum-quality dinosaur bone fragments, which are roughly 1,000 times older, give or take a few million years.
“Everyone collects something. I collect fossils and travel experiences,” Péan said over a dinner hosted by Tank fashion director Caroline Issa last night at Monsieur Bleu, the hottest restaurant in Paris. Shala Monroque, Byredo’s Ben Gorham, Melissa George, and a handful of fashion editors took turns fondling the sixty pieces in the Atelier line. “I can’t stop evangelizing about Monique,” said Issa, who was decked out in several of her own Péans. “For me, she is thoroughly modern, a future icon.”
After her couture show, Donatella Versace celebrated her own baubles alongside the likes of Uma Thurman, Mena Suvari, and Emma Roberts. There are no stegosaurus bones in the Versace collection, though, which turns twenty this year. Donatella loves diamonds—lots of them. Naomi Campbell opened the show, wearing a Medusa pendant necklace pavéd in white stones. It was tucked away safely in its case in time for the cocktail party, but that didn’t stop the photographers from swarming the VIP section, where Naomi and Donatella held court. Versace was in her element: “Look at all the beautiful girls,” she said.
