Alison Lou x J.Crew Debuts Today With Summer’s Most Colorful Statement Jewelry—And It’s All Under $60
Of all the jewelry designers to collaborate with, Alison Lou seems like she’d be the most fun. Her pieces have a sense of humor, for starters, from the enamel emoji charms to tiny spoon- and fork-shaped earrings. In April, she launched her first collection of fashion jewelry, Loucite—a trio of under-$200 “jelly” Lucite hoops in watery pastels—with a little help from her friend Emily Ratajkowski, and last year she designed a pasta dish for The Sosta. (It had flecks of real gold leaf, by the way.) The next partner to knock on Lou’s door was J.Crew, a retailer known for its bold colors and wallet-friendly statement jewelry. “I’m so used to doing fine jewelry, but I was really excited to do something that would [resonate] with the J.Crew customer,” Lou told Vogue.
Instead of simply recasting her signature pieces in more affordable mediums, Lou created brand-new styles with materials she’d never used before: beads and rhinestones. Her XL beaded earrings are destined to sell out first. There are two pairs of giant circle earrings (a classic J.Crew shape) topped with beaded daisies and hearts, and Lou has already been test-driving the yellow and white-striped chunky hoops. “I’ve just been keeping them in my bag wherever I go,” she said. “They’re so easy to throw on if I need to add an earring. J.Crew clothes are [all about being] easy to wear, so we wanted the jewelry to feel like that, too—you can wear it at the beach, stow it in your tote, and take it anywhere.”
In addition to the beaded hoops, the capsule includes a layered charm necklace, a rainbow of rhinestone bracelets, a few heart-shaped rings (Lou’s signature motif), a couple of beaded cuffs, and a pair of brass hoops dotted with multicolored stones. “[This project] has made me go outside my comfort zone,” she said. “I would have loved to do this kind of thing in my fine jewelry, but the price just doesn’t make sense for me or my customer. So being able to explore beading and rhinestones has been interesting. I’m excited to reach a larger market than I’m used to.” That applies to her own friend circle, too: “I was wearing the brass hoops with rhinestones the other day, and my friends were like, ‘Oh, my God, are those new Alison Lou earrings? We can’t afford them!’” she said, laughing. “And I said, no, no, they’re J.Crew. You can definitely afford these.” Shop the collection now in J.Crew stores, and online tomorrow at jcrew.com.
