http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/magazine/09STYLE.html?oref=login
Never Mind the Bling-Bling
By IAIN WEBB
Published: January 9, 2005
In the basement of the Comme des Garçons Dover Street Market in London, a snarl of glittering gold-and-cream objects made from pearls, woolly pompoms, buttons, stars, shells, plastic six-pack holders, a Lurex evening glove and a magnifying glass hang from discarded Champagne corks stuck to the wall. The centerpiece of this installation is a child's teddy bear covered in flesh-colored plasters.
''I don't know what it is about England, but we're really good at accessories,'' explains Judy Blame, the jewelry designer behind this madness, which is in fact a new collection of necklaces. ''When we haven't got the money, we have to use our imagination. I used to go and scavenge around the River Thames. I didn't have any fear about using something that wasn't classic jewelry material.''
Classic is not a word that even remotely applies to Blame, 44, and the objets trouves accessories he creates. Yes, let's clear one thing up straight away. Judy Blame is a he. ''Antony Price'' -- the fashion designer -- ''gave me the nickname Judy,'' says Blame, who has put his given name to rest. ''I always say it's because I had a pill in one hand and a drink in the other.'' Then his friend and fellow nightclubber Scarlett, also a man, came up with the Blame. ''We thought it was like a trashy B-movie actress,'' Blame says.
If you were ever to make a movie of Blame's life, it would definitely be a trashy, low-budget affair. In the late 70's and early 80's, London was the center of the night-life world, and Blame, who ran away from the Devonshire countryside at 17, penetrated its molten core. As the host of his own nightspot called Cha Cha's, Blame wasn't so much a party animal as a party monster: a catty hard act with a forte in withering looks and lines to match, fueled by a cocktail of amphetamines and ''All About Eve'' repartee. Part diva, part demon, he was also the creator of divine accessories that had the ragtag bunch of attention-seeking style slaves dubbed the New Romantics swooning in their Otto Dix-meets-''Sound of Music'' drag.
''Me and Scarlett couldn't afford a new outfit every week, so I had my David Holah chemise'' -- a long, plain muslin dress -- ''and we just used to make a new piece of jewelry each week,'' Blame says. As the weeks went by, these jewels became increasingly over the top -- and so did their creator. Blame took to transforming himself, from ghostly pale aesthete (a latter-day Jean Cocteau, all beret and pan-stick makeup) to a wild, hairy Buffalo Bill character.
Blame found it difficult to channel his creative energy into a commercial jewelry line. Instead, he turned his magpie sensibility to styling. He worked on photo shoots for The Face magazine and continues his long association with the magazine i-D. ''Judy Blame is legendary,'' says i-D's editor, Terry Jones. ''He has that magic intuition. His prints and slogans, along with his brilliant jewelry pieces, have made him an inspiration.''
Blame's accessories also caught the eyes of image-hungry pop stars. Boy George contacted him when he was looking for a little something to wear to the Grammys in 1984. In his autobiography, ''Take It Like a Man,'' Boy George remembers: ''I . . . picked out several pieces of garish gold neck jewelry, and a pair of razzle-dazzle earrings. Five minutes before we went on air, I still couldn't decide what necklace to wear, so I wore them all.'' He then had a photograph taken with Joan Rivers and Joan Collins standing on either side of him, Blame recalls. ''It was the campiest thing you've ever seen in your life!''
Twenty years later, Blame's personal appearance is tamer, but his creative ingenuity and irreverent attitude are still going strong. In essence, his designs are little more than a muddle of everyday objects. ''It doesn't have to be diamonds and gold or bling,'' he says. ''I see beauty in everything.'' Everything has included industrial chains, rubber, ropes and a Coca-Cola can run over by a car. ''One necklace when I first started I literally made out of string. Just a ball of string dyed in a different color with a few wooden beads in it,'' he says, laughing.
The fashion designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons says that it was Blame's ''strong and unique vision'' -- not to mention pink plastic toy soldiers strung up on gold chains -- that excited her to collaborate with him on her Homme Plus line. She also commissioned pieces for her Dover Street Market, which is set up like a chic indoor street fair with artists and designers hawking their wares. ''I've always rated the Japanese for turning fashion a bit on its head,'' Blame says. ''So I was thrilled to be invited by her to do something. You can invent yourself with accessories. I think that must be why I've always been attracted to them.''
Jean-Baptiste Mondino for The New York Times
Chain reaction. From left: Comme des Garçons Homme Plus by Rei Kawakubo geometric-print rayon jacket, $1,070, and pants, $745. Comme des Garçons by Rei Kawakubo wool gabardine and urethane-bonded jacket with leather lacing, $1,760, and tutu courtesy of English National Ballet for Comme des Garçons. Clothing at Comme des Garçons, 520 West 22nd Street. Accessories by Judy Blame. Badges by Tom C for Judy Blame. Hair: Seb Richard. Makeup: Dalila. Retouching: D’Touch. Graphic art: Stéphane Virlogeux. Models: Paulo Goude and Lindsay Ellingson.
Never Mind the Bling-Bling
By IAIN WEBB
Published: January 9, 2005
In the basement of the Comme des Garçons Dover Street Market in London, a snarl of glittering gold-and-cream objects made from pearls, woolly pompoms, buttons, stars, shells, plastic six-pack holders, a Lurex evening glove and a magnifying glass hang from discarded Champagne corks stuck to the wall. The centerpiece of this installation is a child's teddy bear covered in flesh-colored plasters.
''I don't know what it is about England, but we're really good at accessories,'' explains Judy Blame, the jewelry designer behind this madness, which is in fact a new collection of necklaces. ''When we haven't got the money, we have to use our imagination. I used to go and scavenge around the River Thames. I didn't have any fear about using something that wasn't classic jewelry material.''
Classic is not a word that even remotely applies to Blame, 44, and the objets trouves accessories he creates. Yes, let's clear one thing up straight away. Judy Blame is a he. ''Antony Price'' -- the fashion designer -- ''gave me the nickname Judy,'' says Blame, who has put his given name to rest. ''I always say it's because I had a pill in one hand and a drink in the other.'' Then his friend and fellow nightclubber Scarlett, also a man, came up with the Blame. ''We thought it was like a trashy B-movie actress,'' Blame says.
If you were ever to make a movie of Blame's life, it would definitely be a trashy, low-budget affair. In the late 70's and early 80's, London was the center of the night-life world, and Blame, who ran away from the Devonshire countryside at 17, penetrated its molten core. As the host of his own nightspot called Cha Cha's, Blame wasn't so much a party animal as a party monster: a catty hard act with a forte in withering looks and lines to match, fueled by a cocktail of amphetamines and ''All About Eve'' repartee. Part diva, part demon, he was also the creator of divine accessories that had the ragtag bunch of attention-seeking style slaves dubbed the New Romantics swooning in their Otto Dix-meets-''Sound of Music'' drag.
''Me and Scarlett couldn't afford a new outfit every week, so I had my David Holah chemise'' -- a long, plain muslin dress -- ''and we just used to make a new piece of jewelry each week,'' Blame says. As the weeks went by, these jewels became increasingly over the top -- and so did their creator. Blame took to transforming himself, from ghostly pale aesthete (a latter-day Jean Cocteau, all beret and pan-stick makeup) to a wild, hairy Buffalo Bill character.
Blame found it difficult to channel his creative energy into a commercial jewelry line. Instead, he turned his magpie sensibility to styling. He worked on photo shoots for The Face magazine and continues his long association with the magazine i-D. ''Judy Blame is legendary,'' says i-D's editor, Terry Jones. ''He has that magic intuition. His prints and slogans, along with his brilliant jewelry pieces, have made him an inspiration.''
Blame's accessories also caught the eyes of image-hungry pop stars. Boy George contacted him when he was looking for a little something to wear to the Grammys in 1984. In his autobiography, ''Take It Like a Man,'' Boy George remembers: ''I . . . picked out several pieces of garish gold neck jewelry, and a pair of razzle-dazzle earrings. Five minutes before we went on air, I still couldn't decide what necklace to wear, so I wore them all.'' He then had a photograph taken with Joan Rivers and Joan Collins standing on either side of him, Blame recalls. ''It was the campiest thing you've ever seen in your life!''
Twenty years later, Blame's personal appearance is tamer, but his creative ingenuity and irreverent attitude are still going strong. In essence, his designs are little more than a muddle of everyday objects. ''It doesn't have to be diamonds and gold or bling,'' he says. ''I see beauty in everything.'' Everything has included industrial chains, rubber, ropes and a Coca-Cola can run over by a car. ''One necklace when I first started I literally made out of string. Just a ball of string dyed in a different color with a few wooden beads in it,'' he says, laughing.
The fashion designer Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons says that it was Blame's ''strong and unique vision'' -- not to mention pink plastic toy soldiers strung up on gold chains -- that excited her to collaborate with him on her Homme Plus line. She also commissioned pieces for her Dover Street Market, which is set up like a chic indoor street fair with artists and designers hawking their wares. ''I've always rated the Japanese for turning fashion a bit on its head,'' Blame says. ''So I was thrilled to be invited by her to do something. You can invent yourself with accessories. I think that must be why I've always been attracted to them.''
Jean-Baptiste Mondino for The New York Times
Chain reaction. From left: Comme des Garçons Homme Plus by Rei Kawakubo geometric-print rayon jacket, $1,070, and pants, $745. Comme des Garçons by Rei Kawakubo wool gabardine and urethane-bonded jacket with leather lacing, $1,760, and tutu courtesy of English National Ballet for Comme des Garçons. Clothing at Comme des Garçons, 520 West 22nd Street. Accessories by Judy Blame. Badges by Tom C for Judy Blame. Hair: Seb Richard. Makeup: Dalila. Retouching: D’Touch. Graphic art: Stéphane Virlogeux. Models: Paulo Goude and Lindsay Ellingson.
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