How better to mark the occasion of a debut catwalk collection, than with a simple yet spectacular new line of complementary jewellery? Laura Taylor and Ryan Holliday-Stevens launched their modernist label Solace London back in 2013, and have since collected an impressive roster of stockists – including Net-a-Porter and Bergdorf Goodman. It is only for S/S18 however, that the duo has joined the NYFW schedule. To coincide, their new line of statement earrings – tubular, organically curved and chromatically striking – completes the collection.
A set of gently twisted metal sculptures – riffs on figurative prints that weave discreetly throughout the collection – each singular earring echoes the soft contours inked expressively onto clothing throughout. A second set of extended drops – long, rectangular and dipped in a bright red enamel – offset its gold- and silver-plated counterpart.
Served as mismatched pairs for the show, the designers set the tone for the pieces, which will be sold separately as single earrings, each packaged in their own Perspex cube. As Taylor explains, ‘you can pair them and wear them as you desire’. Holliday-Stevens continues: ‘It just felt more modern that way.’
But why earrings only? Complying with their predilection for modernity, the designers wanted to eschew the mixed messages of a large and rambling collection, and skip the fussiness of layering necklaces over their sleek, high necklines. ‘They’re designed to be worn with the range,’ Holliday-Stevens explains. ‘We’re not putting them straight into the jewellery department of the big retailers we work with – these are very much part of the collection.’
