Blogs

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This summer was a doozie for me! I turned 60 and won a major award from the Council of Fashion Designers of America - the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award. It was the first time ever that this “Fashion Oscar” was given to a jewelry designer in this prestigious category.


Diane Von Furstenberg threw me a special party that was small and intimate at the Gramercy Park Hotel. Calvin Klein and Donna Karan arrived along with many of my dearest friends in the industry: Stan Herman, Richard Lambertson, and designers from all walks of fashion. Then Donna Karan invited me to sit at her table at the CFDA Gala award ceremony at the New York public library with my wife Susan, Iman, and her fabulous husband David Bowie. I made Iman a special necklace that was all gold and draped down her entire front and back. She was the queen of the night. Calvin and Donna presented me with my award and the evening was a joyful occasion. We hobnobbed with Ralph Lauren, Oprah Winfrey, and many TV and movie stars. The CFDA Gala is considered by many to be the party of the year in New York City.


Then, a few weeks later, still in the glow of that night, I went off by myself to spend my birthday on my 500-acre piece of sheer New Mexican wilderness by myself, looking for a vision quest or a sign from the spirits as to my future direction. I rode a horse around my property for the first time and camped in a tent under the stormy skies of a wild monsoon. I spent hours and hours in deep prayer, in total union with the spirits of the land and the ancestors with all their wisdom and stories.