All that glitters may not be gold, but the jewelry inside Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin’s (aka Inez and Vinoodh) apartment last night certainly was—24 karats, to be precise. The photographer duo invited an intimate group of friends to their Nolita loft for their debut collaboration with online direct-to-consumer jewelry brand Mene. Cohosted by Mene’s Diana Widmaier Picasso, the launch party offered guests a first look at the limited-edition rings, medallions, and charms. “Inspiration comes from the material,” Widmaier Picasso explained. “Gold has been a source of inspiration for ages throughout history, and the very first pieces of jewelry were made from gold. We wanted to create pieces that were timeless and inspired by art history. We want to bring something that is historical, but does not necessarily follow fashion.”
Though the line has just launched, the idea was born long ago. Matadin told Vogue, “It all started when our son Charles turned 10. I made a necklace for Inez that had our two wedding rings and a star, because Star is Charles’s middle name.” Van Lamsweerde continued, “Then everyone started saying, ‘This is so great, why don’t you make more?’ When Roy [Sebag], Anja [Rubik], and Diana [Widmaier Picasso] approached us, we thought, Let’s do this again. It symbolizes the bond of our family. It’s something that everyone can wear. It feels personal, like something someone gave to you. And that’s what Mene is all about.”
As the event started, guests trickled in—a designer here, a model there. An hour in, the photographers’ apartment was flooded with close fashionable friends, reminding us that we may come from different backgrounds, but fashion brings us together. Guests included Mene founder Roy Sebag, Margaret Qualley, Dustin Yellin, Courtney Love, and Vogue’s Tonne Goodman. Of course, the photographers yielded a strong showing of today’s top models: Doutzen Kroes, Constance Jablonski, Anja Rubik, and Andreea Diaconu were all in attendance. Guests were as resplendent as their surroundings: an impeccably designed artists’ loft with artworks by Yves Klein, Ellsworth Kelly, Andy Warhol, and Isamu Noguchi. The glittering Mene jewelry that everyone sported nearly gild the lily.