Us girls love a good piece of jewelry – especially long, draped necklaces, chain belts and mixed media earrings. Steel Couture designer Lisa Fortin brings fresh perspective to traditional forms of jewelry with unique styling and intricate attention to detail.

Initially starting out in Costume Design, Lisa has been in the jewelry industry for nearly ten years, designing pieces for the crème de la crème of New York. Dedicated to her craft, she explores the use of knitting, crocheting, and braiding with wire and chain to give a chain-mail effect – manipulating rigid metals into soft and feminine shapes with a rock n roll edge.

The Steel Couture Spring 2010 collection features signature chain belts and cuffs, feathered earrings, and flowing necklaces, all in a mix of gun metal, brass, silver, and gold. Available at Oak NYC and Fred Segal Melrose.

We’re all about fun in the sun here in Australia, so it’s only natural we’ve got wardrobes to match! Melbourne sunnies label Quay Eyewear has been kicking it Down Under for more than eight years and finally made its way across the Pacific to the US during the last 12 months.

The brainchild of Allen and Linda Hammond (the team behind Bleeker St), the range consists of everyday eyewear, classic styles, retro/vintage themes, and has the highest UV rating to protect your little peepers. Think oversized frames, heart-shaped frames, animal print, stripes, bling, tortoiseshell, neon – it’s all there, and retailing for around $60US and under, it’s kind of a steal, nah mean?

Quay Eyewear

Get your hands on a pair at Fred Segal, Oak, Metropark, and Intuition.

The Guild show is a relatively new tradeshow that was housed in The Place at The Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas.  Like many boutique tradeshows, Guild was a suite show – where each brand uses their hotel suite as a showroom.  It’s a bit intimidating to just walk into suites but this show was definitely worth it.  It was a bit heavier on the men’s offering but there were standouts like Wings & Horns, Sperry Top-Sider, SeaVees, Timo. and my new favorite – Krane.  I was walking through the hallway and spotted a mound of leather bags, cases and totes in a corner.  From the moment I saw them, I had to put all shyness aside and walk into the suite – I’m so glad that I did.

Krane began as a leather and cotton goods company focusing on bags, and later expanded to include outerwear, plackets and accessories.  Founded by Ken Chow, his design pedigree is a testament to his ambitious design and impeccable attention to detail.  Ken studied at FIT and later interned for Marc Jacobs and Cloak before returning to his native Toronto, Canada.  His soft-spoken manner, art background and humility translate into subtle, intelligent design.

Read the full story to see more pictures and learn more about the collection.

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Linda Nguyen is only 26 but her resumé reads like that of a veteran of the fashion industry. The Orange County, native is currently the women’s designer at Burton, the director of the Ladies Lotto Los Angeles chapter and is the founder/designer, event producer, graphic designer,and ninja for Lovemade—an events company and creative collective who supports other female professionals.

The ladies of Lovemade work on a variety of projects ranging from fashion styling, consulting, events, graphic/apparel design, and music. The team consists of designers, make-up artists, hair stylists, marketing/event coordinators, djs, photographers, and fashion consultants.

After the jump, see a time line of the journey Linda took to get to where she is today. Linda also shares with us a preview of the Fall ‘08 collection she designed for B by Burton, plus a behind the scenes video of the shoot. Jump!

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