XEX Magazine unveils the ultimate, not so hidden fashion accessory gem. A global fashion success in the editorial world and shocking us with Beyonce’s claws in Run the world (Girls)’s music video. We were lucky enough to get an exclusive interview with brilliant, Detroit native Lauren Ruicci, and share with you her fascinating jewelry line LaRuicci.
Photography Dallas J. Logan
Wardrobe Inoisell Miranda
Mua/Hair Damion Gerardo
Model Kara @ Major
Interview Inoisell Miranda
How did you become a jewelry designer, were you exposed to a creative environment growing up?
I became a jewelry designer in the end of 2008 when I picked up the pliers and started hoarding beads and chain, that Christmas I brought home a set of 8 necklaces and timidly laid them out on my mom’s bed and showed my dad, he said “These are great! You have to make more of them” so I did…
As far as my upbringing, and creativity, my mom is a creative soul, it comes through in everything she touches, and always has. She is one of 3 sisters; one high-class perfect and proper, one wild woman, and then her, the youngest and she somehow maintains eternal youth, which has always inspired me. Between us we represent every girl that Laruicci is made for. We have all always been very close knit. Busia, my grandma is really where the original creativity came from, She has been hoarding jewelry and shinny things since well before I came along, and I’m fairly certain that is where my obsession came from. She literally has whole rooms full of vintage everything, it’s a time capsule in her house and I find some new disco jewelry every time I walk in. She recently showed me the secret drawer with a false back where she hides the real goods, and that’s one secret spot I’ll always remember. Girls love Secrets, feeling like they are the only one, and feeling special no matter who they are that’s why they gravitate to jewelry in the first place, and we love to provide objects of desire to fill that need.
What was your first creation? And do you still own it?
We danced so hard in those first 8 necklaces, I remember the parts of them flying across the dance floor of Happy Endings in the lower east side on the hottest summer nights, call it learning about quality control. Some of the original stunners are still in the mix, and people periodically borrow them, and they still show up in editorials. I recently began going back into my own archives and re-thinking what we did back then, why it was significant then, and how we could make it heavier better and more over the top now… Its nice to look back because even then the great ideas were there, and I was so hungry to make interesting things, without the responsibility of having to duplicate it, or worry about price point, or worry if there was a customer for it, ignorance was bliss, and they were ideas coming from a very authentic place, I keep in mind trying to find that place again, knowing what I know now. Analyzing what was going on in my head is a slippery slope… One of the best compliments I have ever received was a past reveler; she said, “How do you think of this stuff? Your mind just functions on a different plane.”
I want to try and capitalize on that plane and not discount any of the ideas, whether they were ever famous or not they are all perfect for something.
Many of our readers have a desire to be a part of the fashion world, please share with us a little bit about the journey of building such a unique Jewelry Empire. What did it take?
It takes a lot of support, and non-judgmental critics. I was completely spoiled because the one who was always there, since the start of Laruicci, Pervis Ross may be my biggest fan. People who believe wholeheartedly in the vision of each new piece even if it’s something they’ve never seen before, or something hat has never been mainstream. Just seeing the collection through my eyes and loving it is not enough, the jewelry is made to be appealing to everyone so the more hands and hearts it gets into the better off we are. Tons of praise in the beginning is what kept me exploring new shapes and options, and the team around me going crazy for the samples as they leave the drawing board has always been really important to me. My advice is to find these people only listen to them, and keep experimenting. Create your own world and live in it; it’s the best place for a creative brand to start.
How has studying in Europe and working with the most powerful global publications, such as Italian/British/Nippon/Spanish Vogue, Numero, ID Magazines, to name just a few, influence your designs?
It requires a bit of responsibility if anything, it puts the designer in the pocket of the greatest creative fashion minds of our time, in charge of supplying the industry with things they’ve never seen before that ignites something inside of them. These are the people who can access everything our industry. They scour the world for luxury products to use. In the end, the pieces I make represent the best publications, and editors in the world, and I just want to make them proud since they’ve shown me how beautiful and perfect Laruicci can be in their eyes. Their vision truly blows me away, and that is why I stay in the game.
Every time I go back to Europe I remember where my aesthetic came from, we were just in Paris and I was there with Paris Virgins, and it reminded me of how I felt the first time I saw the Lights, or the Louvre, it is so important to keep coming back to things that you once loved, to see new facets, inevitably you have changed, and these things are still so striking, they have the opportunity to inspire all over again. That is why we have to make travel our greatest priority, and see the things and places that may prove to be the next big thing for our psyche.
Your jewelry is bold, adventurous, in some way futuristic, and yet perfect for the cosmopolitan type of women, what do you think every woman should be wearing this season?
Remember you’re never fully dressed without a smile… But the only logical next step is full hands of encrusted rings that span 4 fingers at a time.
YES! Both hands—and maybe a mechanism that makes them connect—Laruicci Finger Traps if you will… Also, big bracelets, super detailed and special, why not make it 2!
As a “Fashionista” of the male type, I cannot live without my white gold & silver rings, and manly cuffs. What is your fashion accessory advice for men? (Any plans for a men’s collection any time soon? PLEASE)
Laruicci is really Androgynous, and for press we will always make men’s jewelry, everything in the collection that is super heavy, sharp, dangerous, or bondage-is a nod to the men in my life… Pervis, Antonio, Nelson, Nick, and Steve… The ones who make Lauricci work day in and day out…. They are the ones that I’m with every single day. They are never turned off by large scale and weight of things, and this gives me a lot of freedom because my aesthetic is the same.
My advice for men is to just to be experimental, I’m spoiled because the men in my life all have an amazing sense of style, and I literally find myself checking them out, not only because they are hot, but because I would wear what they have on, occupational hazard I guess, always surrounded by sharp men.
As for or the rest… Get a point of view, buy nice shoes, get a leather bag, throw out anything you have that’s old, or gross, implement tie clips for skinny ties- those we do make for men gunmetal is a fan favorite.
You seem very in tune with “celebrity pop culture”, Beyonce, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Kate Moss, the list is endless… Who are you eager to design pieces for now?
We have been lucky enough to always only be placed on the celebrities that best represent Laruicci, so hopefully that will just keep cosmically aligning. As of now I am really focused on designing for my exotic clientele in places like Brazil, Kuwait, and Dubai. I’m really looking forward to Beyonce’s big return and looking forward to new talent to come our way in need of the edgy pieces to solidify their image.
AVAILABLE IN XEX MAGAZINE ISSUE 5