LaunchPad

By Jennifer Heebner -- JCK Online, 1/1/2007 2:00:00 AM

Music artist Jay-Z's seven-year-old fashion firm Rocawear has unveiled a limited-edition fine-jewelry line in cooperation with Lucas Designs. The Rocawear merchandise features 150 pieces of men's and women's styles in 14k and 18k yellow and white gold with diamonds. Retail prices range from $500 to $10,000. They're sold exclusively at the Roc POP Shop in New York's Times Square (formerly an athletic shoe store called Training Camp). Motifs include feathers, flames, bamboo, and the letter R and the combination RW in script. Lucas Design's vice president, Daniel Landver, says his firm sought out Rocawear to diversify its brand portfolio. “We are big fans of Jay-Z and have watched his company grow and wanted to be a part of the excitement that he was creating,” Landver told JCK. “The RW flame logo also gave us huge potential for design concepts.” Rocawear, Lucas Design International, Los Angeles; (213) 387-4444; www.lucas-design.com.

Menswear designer Thom Browne will launch a men's jewelry collection in spring 2007 for jeweler-to-the-stars Harry Winston. Jewelry has been on the couturier's mind for a while, according to a statement published by Winston, which claims the designer's “uniquely American sensibility” drew him to the famed jeweler. Browne was named Menswear Designer of the Year in 2006 by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. The Browne-Winston collection will feature cufflinks, rings, timepieces, and other items. Harry Winston, New York; (800) 988-4110; www.harrywinston.com.

Robert Lee Morris has designed a new jewelry collection inspired by pop artist Andy Warhol. In a statement, Morris says the collaboration “is about bringing a new kind of life to [Warhol's] iconic images … and merging them into my signature graphic language.” The result of these combined visions was launched to the media in December and includes pieces for both men and women. The collection enters U.S. independent retailers and department stores this spring. Robert Lee Morris, New York; (212) 633-4948; www.robertleemorris.com.

With wedge heels teetering high atop every woman's must-have accessory list this year, you might think the shoes inspired jewelry designer Stephen Kris to make his Wedge of Life collection. In fact, the inspiration for Kris's substantial but minimalist line of rings (starting at $600) is sculptor Richard Serra, an American artist known for sheet-metal structures in wedge form. Kris casts his wearable wedge tributes in 18k white, red, and gray (a palladium mix) gold. He claims the relationship between several rings changes as you wear them because they're constantly in motion—”kinetic,” he says. Stephen Kris, New York; (212) 242-1964; www.stephenkris.com.