Daily Front Row

2009 March 10

All Hail the House of Harlow!

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(LOS ANGELES) Melrose Avenue was slightly more crowded than usual on Saturday afternoon as a steady stream of budding fashionistas patiently lined the street to meet and greet Nicole Richie who was debuting her jewelry collection, House of Harlow, at the Kitson boutique. 

Richie, ever the embodiment of a bohemian scene queen in a breezy cream-colored maxi dress custom-designed by a friend, sauntered in the store hand-in-hand with her younger sister Sofia, draped in bangles, necklaces and rings of her own design. The collection, which was crafted by Mouawad, boasts eye-popping dazzlers in bold starburst and geometric designs in gold, palladium, rose gold and leather materials and resonates a distinctive vintage-meets-modern aesthetic.

“Nicole has fantastic taste and really brought beautiful designs to the table. I’ve worked with Heidi Klum and Andrea Lieberman among others on high-end, red carpet jewelry collaborations, but this is really the first fashion-forward [costume jewelry] collection Mouawad has done,” Pascal Mouawad said. “We wanted the price points to be very affordable since Nicole’s fans are young and trendy. It was a lot of fun working with such a smart and stylish star…this is only the beginning!”

Hairstylist Andy LeCompte was on hand to perfectly position Richie’s metallic gold-plated headpiece before she took to her fans, many of whom were decked out in House of Harlow designs. “I love Nicole’s headpieces. I actually sell them in my salon and put them on other clients all of the time and they freak out. Her pieces are so on trend and as a long as you part the hair in the middle and keep it romantic and Grecian with some loose waves, a lot of people can actually wear them,” the stylist explained.

As for Richie, the young mom, reality star and designer took a breather to reflect on her latest achievement. “I designed every single piece personally and I think it all turned out great. This is really very exciting since I based my line off a lot of my own old 1960s and 1970s jewelry pieces I’ve collected over the years,” she explained. “My mom is seriously my biggest fan. She’ll try to leave the house wearing one of my headpieces, and I’m like dragging her back inside so she won’t embarrass herself! There’s an age limit with those things, you know?”
JENNIFER CHAN