Mixed and Matched
Chunky, bold, multicolored, and striking, these pieces are from Accessory Remix, a jewelry label launched in June 2009 by Enovia Bedford, a 25-year-old designer from Jamaica, Queens.
A yellow and black bowtie necklace with a gold chain; necktie necklaces in white, yellow, and stripes; a glam gold chain necklace with mixed Swarvoski crystals and rhinestones; gigantic chalkboard earrings. Chunky, bold, multicolored, and striking, these pieces are from Accessory Remix, a jewelry label launched in June 2009 by Enovia Bedford, a 25-year-old designer from Jamaica, Queens.
A young designer with a young label, Bedford has managed to attract a fan base that is quite impressive: rapper Teyanna Taylor has tweeted about one of Bedford’s necklaces; the members of Electrik Red wear pieces from Accessory Remix; Kate Beckinsale and her daughter adore Bedford’s designs as well. Beckinsale’s daughter even owns the hot pink bow tie with the gold chain, which is the first thing people see when they go to the Accessory Remix Web site, worn by Teyanna Taylor.
Having celebrities as fans definitely qualifies Bedford as being successful even though she’s only just embarked on her journey as a solo designer. A F.I.T. graduate, Bedford was working for a wholesale company for six years before starting her own line. The company’s clientele included Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Target, and Guess.
“… any places you’ve ever walked into that have mainstream jewelry I have something in that store,” Bedford says.
Bedford learned a lot from the corporate job, from coping with different personalities, dealing with international business transactions, to the importance of following up. More than anything else, the experience with wholesale helped Bedford form a better grasp of predicting people’s likes.
“I’ve been doing trends for the last couple of years,” Bedford says, “so I’m really good at thinking what trend is going to happen next.”
So, just out of curiosity, what does Bedford think is going to happen next?
“Usually if there’s something that’s menswear, the next thing that follows it is going to be the exact opposite,” Bedford says. “It’ll be really, really feminine. Maybe there’ll be like a lot of floral pendants, a lot of floral charms.”
For some designers, a sense of aesthetics and an inclination for fashion are innate, and Bedford is one of them. In fifth grade, Bedford’s class was given an assignment to make a book of anything from A to Z. While Bedford’s classmates did medical terms or dinosaurs, she chose accessories.
“So mine was like K for Keroppi, J for jelly sandals,” Bedford says.
Being different from people around her apparently is a trait of Bedford’s whether she’s 11 or 25. Living in Union City, New Jersey, Bedford says she always stands out as a New Yorker.
“Now that I live in Jersey, I notice the difference. And they notice the difference,” she says.
Indeed with her burnt saffron mohawk, and a height of 5 feet 8, Bedford easily catches attention as she walks down the street. And she pays people equal attention because she gets inspired by even the tiniest things.
“When I see little silly things on people, I’d be like, ‘Oh my God if I take that and I repeat it and I’ll have a new ring for a necklace,’” Bedford says.
It’s this attention to minute details, combining and mixing details that distinguish Bedford and her line from other designers and their labels. One of Bedford’s staples is the chain shades, which are adaptable to trends. As the necklaces of the shades are detachable, the designer can turn them into whatever she wants to keep up with the fads.
A girl full of fresh ideas and fashion sense, when asked about her design philosophy, Bedford laughs and says she wishes the questions had been sent to her before the interview. But she came up with a good answer.
“Everybody can go to a store and buy the exact same thing but that’s not making it personalized,” Bedford says. “So it’s about taking what you have and making it work for you.”
Bedford certainly does a good job of “mix and match” and that’s how people are attracted to Accessory Remix. Despite the recession, or maybe perhaps it is because of the recession that people start shopping at trunk shows, flea markets, or little boutiques, and that’s when indie designers such as Bedford come into play.
“They want that really specialized item for Christmas or for a birthday so they’re coming to me before they go to Forever 21 or Mandy’s or Macy’s,” Bedford says.
Although we’re still amidst the brutal winter, Bedford has already started pushing her chain shades really hard. For the spring, she is going to bring in some bright colors as well as dulled-out brushed metal, silver, and gold, and there will always be some chunky necklaces, which the designer can’t live without. It’s a new year and everything looks promising.
“I’m just planning on moving forward, trying to get my international game up, trying to get into some stores in London and Brazil and I’m doing a lot of traveling,” Bedford says.
Oh and there is a boutique coming, too. Looks like 2010 will be even more exciting than the last for Bedford and Accessory Remix.
Get your Accessory Remix here.
(Photo credit: Accessory Remix)
