The emoticons by Allison Lou

From her first collection under the brand name Alison Lou, the one inspired by her cellphone emoticons, reproduced on pendants and earrings, the New York designer Alison Chamla continues with cheeky but chic jewels. And she points to something more luxurious than the smiley or sad faces: Decadence Collection is a tribute to the movies of Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, to Italy and France in the fifties, to the way which women wore jewelry. Of course, the choice of name, Decadence Collection, seems not the happiest, but for Chamla is a synonym for vintage, for the fascinating and elegance of a different world.

But reinterpreted with a flair all her own: the ring in 14K gold, box-shaped caviar enamel that opens onto a surface covered with round black diamonds  is a reference to the Caviar Kaspia of Paris, the old-style restaurant very popular by celeb. In addition to necklaces with red speedster and the bottle of champagne that is so much Grand Corniche (the scenic route of the French Riviera that passes near Montecarlo, background of some scenes of Hitchcock movie To Catch a Thief) there are rings that look like rockets of fireworks, and a whimsical pendant composed of a glass box containing a mini gold bar and a hammer with red enamel fire baptized In case of Emergency. The idea comes from necklaces wore by girls wore  in the fifties with in a dollar to get a cab in case of emergency . But since getting a taxi today’s dollars it would take many more, here is the idea of ​gold bars. A funny way to emphasize the increased cost of living? It can be, but the same goes for the latest Chamla’s jewelry. Here pictures and prices. L.A.