High summer is far from winding down in the shopping districts of Martha’s Vineyard, the famed New England destination island located seven miles off Cape Cod, Mass. Especially when it comes to discovering—and forging connections with—artists and designers.
For McKenzie Liautaud, the Haitian American jewelry and accessories designer whose rock crystal talismans and silk scarves have found their way onto Taylor Swift, Lizzo, and Billy Porter, Martha’s Vineyard has become something of a second home. “Many of my friends summer there, and I’ve been coming for years,” he says. He has a particular fondness for the town of Oak Bluffs, a connection that deepened after he designed a custom piece for clients who later invited him to stay with them there.
A down-island town with colorful Victorian gingerbread cottages, seashell-strewn beaches, and a relaxed, easy energy, Oak Bluffs also has a “storied history that I love and appreciate,” Liautaud shares. Since the late 19th century, the town has long been a haven for Black vacationers and remains a sought-after, culturally rich enclave for a returning community of Black creatives, executives, and entrepreneurs. Anchored by Inkwell Beach and a retail strip along Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs is also home to a growing roster of Black-owned retailers.
Over the weekend, Liautaud returned to his happy place for a trunk show at Lennox & Harvey, the design-forward “general store” specializing in home décor and fashion located just a few miles away in Vineyard Haven. There, co-owners Mark Chung and Eric Coles have hosted successful trunk shows with Liautaud over the course of several seasons.
“They are an incredible partner for me with an amazing retail viewpoint and the ability to give Black designers a space to connect with a valuable and important audience,” says the designer, whose work is rooted in themes of Black ancestry and adornment. “Every summer my business on the Vineyard continues to connect me with new clients and bring back old ones.”
This season, since Liautaud’s trunk show coincided with the start of National Black Business Month, the designer presented his collection of silk scarves alongside a selection of pendants and necklaces and other pieces that capture his distinctive style. Titled MetaMOORphosis, the scarves are printed with images of “magnificent, dignified, beautifully dressed, and heavily jeweled” Moorish kings and queens wearing elaborate gilded headdresses and regalia.
“Lots of my inspiration comes from traveling, and the genesis of the MetaMOORphosis collection happened from my travels to Venice, Italy—many of the most magnificent blackamoor jewelry pieces were made there.”
Blackamoor jewelry, known in Venice as moretto Veneziano, emerged as a Venetian jewelry tradition during the 16th and 17th centuries; featuring intricate hardstone carvings, the jewels have a strong following among collectors who appreciate its historical significance. But the nature of blackamoor jewelry, both its origins, and more recent interpretations (as seen in the work of Nardi), has also been the subject of controversy and debate.
While Liautaud acknowledges the importance of those discussions, “we shouldn’t judge the intention of a Venetian jeweler solely through contemporary racial categories,” he maintains. “The historical meanings of ‘Moor,’ ‘African,’ ‘Black,’ ‘Muslim’ and ‘exotic’ were not identical to today’s concepts, which is why I named the collection metaMOORphosis—it’s about changing, reclaiming, redefining, and representing the powerful influence and impact of black people throughout history and today.
“In my opinion, blackamoor jewelry and my metaMOORphosis collection are a pure celebration of Black beauty and wealth,” which, he adds, can be said of some parts of the Vineyard as well.
Vibrant, maximalist and culturally resonant, Liautaud’s scarves “are an extension of my brand because they’re used in a similar manner as jewelry,” he says. “They personalize or punctuate an outfit with an element of luxury. And they allow me to explore and express my ideas and storytelling in another medium and art form.”
In addition to the scarves, offered in two different sizes, there are MetaMOORphosis leisure sets that can moonlight as festive evening wear. Whenever they are prominently displayed in Lennox & Harvey’s windows during trunk shows, “everyone stops and stares at them with joy and pride,” says Liautaud.
Liautaud spent the opening weekend connecting with clients over the mystical healing and talismanic properties of the crystals used in his jewelry designs. And many stopped by the trunk show eager to shop his latest MetaMOORphosis designs, “which I bring to the Vineyard each season and it’s always a huge hit,” he says. “I always love seeing the expressions when I open up the scarves to show the beautiful black kings and queens surrounded by healing crystals and diamonds.”
Top: MetaMOORphosis scarf in Chartreuse, $295
Follow me on Instagram: @aelliott718
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