Jewels: A Tony Duquette love story

Designer. Theater producer. Visionary. These are some of the ways people described Tony Duquette whose insanely gorgeous 32 piece collection of unique jewels went up for sale last August. The amazing Frank Everett, Sales Director for Sotheby's Jewelry in New York invited me to Sotheby's to take an exclusive view (and let's be honest- try on) prior to the pieces hitting their first-ever online only sale. According to Frank, Tony Duquette was a man of many talents including interior, costume and of course jewelry design. His "more is more" aesthetic were coveted by women like the Duchess of Windsor. If I was one to throw caution to the wind, I would have cleared out my savings to purchase a cocktail ring! 

Hitha Herzog showing off a stunning Tony Duquette bracelet. 

Hitha Herzog wearing a Tony Duquette bracelet.

A few Tony Duquette cocktail rings. 

An assortment of Tony Duquette pieces. 

Hitha in Tony Duquette, a stunning violet dress, and cheetah print high heels.

Frank Everett, Sales Director for Sotheby's Jewelry in New York with Hitha Herzog.

Art, Fashion, and Sotheby's

It's no secret we live in a visual culture. Art and fashion play into the same pleasure of looking at (or designing!) something beautiful. They are also both economical behemoths, with individual pieces costing well over thousands of dollars. With both having a high symbolic value in our culture, it may be easy to write it off as something frivolous and ignore the painstaking details and creative elements included in any garment or artwork. Fortunately for me, keeping up with those details and elements is part of my job. This summer I was invited to be a host for Sotheby'sFacebook Live Shows, where we discuss the details of art, photographs, contemporary furniture and jewelry being sold that month online or IRL. We have more coming up, so I hope you will tune in! 

Who Wore it Better #Grammys 2014 version: Reem Acra cocktail...

Who Wore it Better #Grammys 2014 version: Reem Acra cocktail dress on Sara Bareilles (who I adore) after she sang a duet w/ Carole King or me, @hithaprabhakar? Discuss.

Want a job at Burberry? Start speaking Mandarin!

Earlier this morning, luxury retailer Burberry reported earnings that after taxes rose by 26% to $415 million. Revenues were up a staggering 24% to around $2.5 billion. What's driving the growth? Asia, baby. Burberry launched flagship stores in Hong Kong, Teipei and Paris. An intereesting sign of the times: If you walk into almost every luxury flagship store stateside, you will find at least TWO people who speak Mandarin. Why? Because SURPRISE luxury sales outside of Asia and Europe are mostly driven by Chinese tourists. Want to know something else? Burberry trench coats are still a top seller. And given all the rain we've been getting on the east coast, a trench could definitely come in handy.

(YES that's me from the Art of the Trench campaign shot by my friend Scott Schuman. I really don't look like that when I am getting out the cab.)