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Jewelry and Then Some for Maria Francesca Pepe

February 23, 2009 7:57 pm

Maria Francesca Pepe did not start out as a jewelry designer. “It’s not like I began making jewelry and then decided I could do clothes,” explains the designer, who will make her London fashion week debut at the Fashion East show on Tuesday. “I got my degree in womenswear. I just felt like jewelry was a good way to establish my brand.” Originally from Italy, Pepe graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2007 and has made quick work of brand establishment. After having her sculptural jewelry pieces snapped up by the likes of Dover Street Market, she introduced handbags and apparel to her label last season, and is expanding both those ranges and adding a line of shoes this time around. But even as she builds the Maria Francesca Pepe line, the designer is finding ways to integrate her signature jewelry into her clothes and accessories. Not only has she worked her distinctive hardware into stand-out bags for Fall ‘09, she has also found ways to synthesize jewelry motifs into her new apparel collection. “Like, a jacket will have a built-in bracelet,” she explained, pointing to a tailored blazer with a cuff-like protrusion patterned into it. Elsewhere, what appears to be a hundred-plus plated silver earrings are hand-embroidered to a dress. “This is my way of doing plumage,” she says, going on to note that Fall ‘09 has been a season of playing with traditionally feminine ideas about dressing. “I tend to like hard, masculine looks,” she notes. “I cut my clothes from a man’s block. I like clean. But this time I felt like I wanted to find a way to work in softer elements, but still do it my way.”