Sunday, October 21, 2007

Number One-Hundred-Thirty

The Case of the ‘Power Jewels’
By J.J. Martin, Fashion Wire Daily Milan

“It’s a portable tabernacle of love!” exclaims Betony Vernon just before unveiling the “Boudoir Box” in her lilac studio in the historic residence of the famous Italian decorative artist Piero Fornasetti. The Anglo-American jewelry designer, a towering Botticelli beauty with tumbling fiery red hair and skin the color of dusty pearls, dramatically moves toward the giant leather box before her and cautiously unlocks its sterling silver hinges and heart clasp.

“I’m dealing with taboos here,” she warns FWD, “and lots of people are either offended or break into giggles.”

With that cryptic introduction, the enormous black leather doors swing open to reveal a stunning assembly of shocking, yet exquisitely beautiful, pieces of handmade jewelry. Shocking only because all of the sterling silver baubles, which resemble valuables dug up in a Victorian boudoir, actually lead double lives as luxury sex toys.

“These are what I call power jewels,” says the designer, fingering the impressive line-up of edgy rings, necklaces, bracelets and piercings, which are hung like weapons in an arsenal lined in luscious kid goat skin.

Vernon, a former model and accomplished goldsmith with 17 years of jewelry making experience, is herself a radiating female force as she provides FWD with a PG-13 demonstration of each of the custom-made “sado-chic” pieces.

“This whip makes a great necklace,” she says, showing how a heavy sterling silver handle fits perfectly around the curve of her neck and the long leather strips are clasped in front to form a chic long trail down the chest.

“Feel the effect of these rings,” she urges, while drawing sophisticated rings with large silver balls or a horizontal row of pearls across the arm. The sensation is outstanding, but using the tool on this part of the body seems a bit like test-driving a Ferrari in a cramped parking lot.

“Believe me, in the bedroom, your boyfriend will be thrilled with this,” she says with a playful wink.

Just as she does in her private showings to individual clients, Vernon dives in wholeheartedly, and unabashedly, into shocking details of the form, action and resulting body function of each of her seemingly innocent jewels. Without going into explicit details, let’s just say some of these jewels are going places no precious stone has ever gone before.

“I’m really quite naughty,” she says unapologetically.

A non-plussed Barnaba Fornasetti, Vernon’s companion for the last 10 years, peeks in to the proceedings taking place in his late father’s famous studio and smiles at what seems like typical fervor from his redheaded lioness.

“Have you seen what’s offered in those awful, tacky sex shops?!!” Vernon exclaims with horror, jumping into an explicit description of the kind of purple plastic wares that she says are a total turn-off. “The world needs me!”

Tom Ford may have just come out with his own spanker sex toy for Gucci, but Vernon has mined the upscale erotic territory since 1996 when she offered pearl studded gold handcuffs, then later whip necklaces, alongside her more straight-laced designs for her established jewelry line entitled BV by Betony Vernon.

Needless to say, many American retailers turned a prudish nose away from the jewel tools. But Vernon pushed on with her vision, conducting extensive research into sexology and historical sex objects over the years while developing a specialized collection called “Paradise Found.” The culmination is her trademark Boudoir Box, a shrine of light bondage toys aimed at private clients with a penchant for Rolls-Royce-style sex play.

“I’m not an S&M dominatrix bitch,” she announces, while drawing on one of several Golden Virginia hand rolled cigarettes and crossing her endless legs in a demure pose. “This is pro-love. It’s about empowering people, especially women to explore and discover their bodies. It’s like ‘c’mon girls, stand up straight, stick out those boobs, and be a lady!’”

Using casting molds, Vernon custom-makes every piece in the box according to the personal dimensions and physical desires of her male and female customers. The result is a series of exceptionally original jewelry, which is as beautiful to wear as it is titillating to use.

But they’re not just climax inducing. Vernon has also designed some remarkable cuffs and unusual rings that cling to the skin like puddles of silvery water. One two-fingered ring enforces a “chi mudra” yoga pose with the thumb and forefinger to stimulate concentration and relaxation. Whisper-weight body chains can be worn on the hands or cascading down the back, as one recent client did with her backless evening gown.

Amidst all of the passionate fury surrounding her erotic jewelry, Vernon still finds time to produce commercial collections for Japanese retailer Kashiyama, as well as a line of jewelry featuring Fornasetti’s famous decorative art motifs.

Later, while sitting in her hidden garden, the 34-year-old designer reveals her other most recent endeavor—designing a new collection of precious jewelry for Italian fashion designer Gianfranco Ferré.

“Ferré is a genius, he has such an eye,” she says while describing working side by side with the former architect for the last year.

“He’s never been here,” she says, referring to her studio and home space, “so I don’t even know if he knows what I’ve been working on lately!”

Ferré doesn’t have much to worry about, though. The gold and diamond 30-piece collection, which bows in Ferré stores in September, won’t be making any X-rated statements.

“It’s actually based largely upon the safety pin, which is an iconic symbol for Ferré’s style.” The line, which is composed of various rings, necklaces, money clips and cuffs, many of which morph into new pieces, are interchangeable.

But this creative, independent woman isn’t swapping high profile collaborations for the freedom to navigate her work and develop her passion. “I don’t ride golden ponies. I prefer to walk,” she explains.

For a private viewing of Betony Vernon’s “Boudoir Box,” or for information on her other designs, please contact: betony@planet.it or write to: P.O. Box 1309, Milan, Italy 20101. 

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Paradise Found
Milan, Paris
by Jason Campbell, JCReport

The first impression of the fetching Betony Vernon is that her world must consist of many layers of intrigue. The flaming red hair, an hourglass shape, a tentative yet commanding voice; and then there’s the miniscule phone-numberless card printed with the words Paradise Found that she hands you — all appear to tell a fascinating tale. We set out to discover more.

Vernon’s world is as titillating as one would suspect and the paradise we found centers around pleasure. Based in Milan and working out of Paris, London, and indeed the world, Vernon’s profile is directly from the pages of a Stanley Kubrick script. Paradise Found sells a selection of erotic jewels and “Jewel Tools,” some available at Coco de Mer in London and Maxfield in Los Angeles. But the company’s mere existence (never mind its complete offering) is only known among an elite group of members and insiders.

As this is our gift buying issue, Paradise Found’s Petting ring tops our list of suggested cadeaux this season. Vernon had it patented in 2001 but it has remained a tightly held secret until the recent sniffing about of fashion players set to blow the lid. The Petting ring (don’t you love how that sounds?) is sized for men and women, connects to the index finger and the thump to form the chi MURDA (you know, that yoga/meditation gesture for a one-pointed, concentrated mind) but is also designed to perform an awesome, ahem, hand job. It comes in 18-carat gold or silver, with pave diamonds optional, and can be worn as a beautiful ring when not stroking.

Further into Paradise Found’s arsenal of unisex pleasure power tools are the Yoyo ring, a sexually stimulating massage ring, and the whip collar (diamond handle optional) that doubles as a sophisticated necklace that mixes fashion and fetish, boldly going where squares don’t dare. Both are formidable gift options this season.

Vernon says “love is a spiritual thing” and she’s found ways to fully immerse some very fortunate clients in a well-rounded Paradise Found experience. Most enticing is her Boudoir box, a treasure trove that comes in croc, ostrich or Beluga, stocked with custom-made sex toys-cum-jewelry that the designer travels with Bond-style across the globe. There’s an appointment-only salon in Paris where all of Paradise Found’s offerings are on display, and Vernon conducts erotic events and private consulting for couples in luxury hotel rooms and private clubs like Soho House in London. Give the gift of pleasure this season.

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Paradise Found in Paris
from Paris Gridskipper

Not a million miles away from la Place de la Bastille is what Paris’ premier erotic bookstore La Musardine’s owners described as “the most exclusive sex club on the Planet.” If you’d like to explore eroticism with an aesthetic and elegant flavor you need to find some way to gain admittance to Betony Vernon’s Paradise Found. The location is secret, but the address is very central—minutes away in Bastille, shoppers go about their mundane errands. The address is known only to Paradise Found members; new members must be sponsored by someone already part of the group. So what’s going on behind the velvet drapes?

Anglo-American Betony Vernon is a jewelry designer who has created custom made jewels for collectors and exclusive boutiques, such as the Coco de Mer in London and Los Angeles as well as Kiki de Montparnasse in New York. In the 1990s she renounced a career as a runway model (although this arresting Boticellian beauty is still much photographed) and refined her jewelry-making skills with Florentine masters of repoussé, mosaic, and engraving. After attaining her masters degree in industrial design at Domus Academy in Milan, she became the principal jewelry designer for Italian interior design firm Fornasetti and for Gianfranco Ferre. Research in eroticism and the history of sex and sensuality gave birth to the “Paradise Found” collection, which she launched publicly in 2001. These “jewel tools for aesthetic love-making” have inspired her forthcoming PhD thesis in human sexuality.

Once you pass through those deep velvet drapes at Paradise Found, you’ll see how Vernon has arranged the boudoir to pulse with sensuality. The main room houses a frankly raunchy little saddle and stirrups get-up and a beaded corset by Mister Pearl (an English corset maker) on a tailor’s dummy. The beautifully padded and upholstered walls also serve as a gallery featuring erotic photographs, one of which shows a pair of sole-less silver shoes tip tapping across a naked back; that one was photographed by Michael James O’Brien, who worked for years with Matthew Barney. And it’s Vernon’s own design, of course.

Paradise Found is ostensibly dedicated to the pleasures of safe, aesthetic, creative sex between consenting adults. The salon allows members private consultations with Vernon, with an aim to developing sexual awareness, improving sexual skills, and general erotic well being. Members can order the Salon’s limited edition artwork, participate in events and talks, and arrange consultations with international sex specialists.

Of course, there’s also the chance Vernon might allow you to peep inside the Boudoir Box, which is only opened by invitation; its contents are never photographed. Inside are erotic jewels designed to heighten sexual awareness and multiply pleasure. (The Salon is the only place the Boudoir box can be discreetly viewed and privately ordered.) These accessories allow you to do things with your mouth, hands, and your sex, but the use of tools add an aesthetic factor and allow you to do these things better and longer. Rings, belts, chains, and earrings all have multiple functions. For instance, the rings could be used as a runner for bondage cords, or worn on different parts of the body. Metallic fronds from earrings delightfully swish over your erogenous collar bones but could become testicle ticklers later on in the evening.

Vernon’s frank tips and ideas about how to experiment and enjoy the objects are all part of the process. She suggests using the jewelry as a secret sign that one is in the mood. She believes jewels are for the inside of the body too, and promoting sexual confidence is part of her mission.

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Sincerely.
Eve and JW3 and Mélisande
Dirty Girl Things ©
Unrepentant.  Unpretentious.  Unconventional. ©

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