Rachel Zoe Launches Jewelry Line at Neiman Marcus

On Tuesday, the empire of stylist turned media and fashion mogul Rachel Zoe expanded to include jewelry, available exclusively at NeimanMarcus.com and Wednesday at 42 Neiman Marcus stores nationwide.Its fancy but its not, Zoe said at her Melrose Avenue showroom on Monday afternoon, where she previewed the collection, $195 to $650, inspired by her favorite things, including Art Deco and 1960s and 1970s glam. The pieces, like Zoe herself, make a big statement. Ive never been subtle, she said.Indeed, this is the kind of jewelry that lets every woman have a red carpet moment, whether its at lunch with friends or at a charity gala.This, I have not stopped wearing since I got it, she said, fingering the chunky, twisted gold rope and tassel sautoir necklace, $650, that she wore with a skinny, black pantsuit. You can tie it in front, drape it around your neck like a scarf and let the ends hang in front or drape down the back. Advertisement Looking at the necklace, I immediately thought of one of Zoes most memorable styling coups: Kate Hudson at the 2010 SAG Awards in that sexy-as-hell, backless, long-sleeved, white Emilio Pucci gown with a Cartier tassel sautoir draped against her bare back. It was such an effective styling flourish that it may have single-handedly brought tassel jewelry back into fashion. (I know it prompted me to get a tassel necklace that belonged to my grandmother out of the drawer and start wearing it.)Since Ive started styling, Ive always loved a super-low back with a necklace worn against it, Zoe explained.This kind of synergy explains how and why Zoes red carpet influence has been so successful in informing her burgeoning fashion business. And indeed, her headquarters here includes a floor for her celebrity styling business, as well as a floor for the Rachel Zoe Media Group, where she oversees an editorial staff that publishes daily email newsletters the Zoe Report, Zoe Beautiful and AccessZOEries. Design of the jewelry collection is also done here in L.A., while the apparel collection is designed in New York, where she will present her spring 2013 runway show at fashion week in September.Zoe picked up another piece of jewelry, a Wonder Woman-like cuff with a circular, shield-like embellishment in yellow gold, black enamel and diamante stones, $420. I love putting one of these on each arm. This is a piece, Zoe says with emphasis. There are gobstopper-sized cocktail rings with jade-colored stones, stackable bangles with alternating strips of black enamel and diamante stones, Lucite link collar necklaces, cuffs with interlocking knots, and dangling black and gold fringe earrings, all of which will be rolled out in Neiman Marcus stores over the next couple of months. Advertisement I feel like I have been designing this collection for the last 20 years, Zoe says. I sketched and drew a lot of inspiration from my archives. And my research involved a lot of trial and error. After the first prototypes, I decided if I liked this or that, changed chains and stones.Zoe has quite an impressive personal jewelry collection too, which I have been able to see the two times Ive been able to tour her closet. She loves vintage Chanel, Miriam Haskell, Lanvin, Cartier and Bulgari pieces.This collection is about giving her customers a taste of that glamour, albeit a less expensive one. People want fun things that they can wear with jeans and a T-shirt and make their look that much better, which is why each piece has a lot to it.When the jewelry collection expands beyond Neiman Marcus into other stores for spring, the line also will broaden to include smaller, more subtle pieces too in other words, not so much bling.For me, I have never stopped wearing big jewelry, some bigger than my appendages. But its not for everybody. And since my son has been born, there are more delicate things that I sleep in and dont take off. Anita Ko made me a necklace thats a vertical bar engraved with my son Skylers name and birth date, and Hilary Tisch made me a couple of delicate pieces with his name on them too.So will fine jewelry be next?Why not? I never say never. Its the same reason I will probably go into high-end eveningwear eventually. Why not play with the real stuff?ALSO: Advertisement Beaded jewelry comes of ageThe expanding world of Rachel ZoeJewelry designer Alexis Bittar is in expansion modePhoto:Pieces from Rachel Zoes jewelry collection, launching exclusively at NeimanMarcus.com and Neiman Marcus stores nationwide. Credit: Rachel Zoe Jewelry.