We’ve been dreaming in gemstones ever since Jillian Sassone dropped her SS’18 jewelry collection, “Dreaming of Marrakesh.”
The creative force behind Marrow Fine calls it her “favorite line to date.”
We couldn’t agree more.
And our infatuation led us to wonder… how did Sassone dream up this globally-inspired collection that so many brides are over the moon about?
We asked, she answered, and then some.
What’s behind the name “Dreaming of Marrakesh?”
It’s such a magical place, Marrakesh. I’ve always dreamt of going to Morocco. I find it all so inspiring—the colors of the faded tiles, the intricate patterns in the lanterns, the architecture. We put elements of that in the spring line, little touches here and there with the colors and a pattern, but nothing where it feels too forced.
Is there a particular piece you most cherish?
The Opal Headdress Ring because it’s based on the design of the very first ring I ever made, which was using my grandmother’s heirloom opal when she passed away. I just started this as a hobby and remade an old earring of hers into a ring. People started stopping me on the street or in a coffee shop asking me where I got it. From that, I started getting clients right away, even though I wasn’t looking for it.
What pieces from “Dreaming in Marrakesh” have spoke most to brides?
Definitely, the Moon Signet Rings. We’ve been having a lot of brides pick the Signet as their engagement ring, which has been fun. And we’ve also had a lot of brides choose to get the moon they’re getting married on and wear that on their right hand. We look up at what moon is in the sky the day they’re getting married. If they also want to combine it with their something blue, we might do that in the side stones. It’s kind of a two for one.
So, why now was it time draw from global inspirations in your designs?
Even though we’re in Solana Beach, which is a sleepy town in a lot of ways, we want to keep pushing fashion boundaries and look beyond our own backdoor and pull in things from all over the world. I lived in New York for a long time, so a lot of my inspiration comes from that. We love it here so much and we want to keep pushing the expectations around fashion and design and jewelry. If we can be a leader in that, I would love to.
That’s apparent in the stunning photo shoot and fashion campaign for your new line. Can you divulge a few details from that?
We were really excited to work with Vacation Theory to produce the shoot. They do all of the photography for Jen Gotch’s brand ban.do. I’ve loved her work and her message; she really knows what her brand is—all about fun. They just create really dreamy campaigns. So when we reached out to them and then they brought (photographer) Jesse Chamberlin on board, it felt really magical to be creating with all of these LA darlings that I’ve admired for a really long time.
You’ve said this is your favorite line to date. Why so?
It feels the most cohesive, the most thoughtful. Even though the pieces aren’t super matchy matchy, the color palette and the overall design elements all tie in together. When I first started in jewelry design, I would do something just because I liked it. It wasn’t as cohesive in design. This collection just feels like it was made to go together, even thought it’s not your traditional matchy matchy set.
In what ways have your jewelry designs evolved over time?
When I first started, I was making all statement rings and big pieces. Now we’re kind of, surprisingly, known for the art of the stack. That’s what people come in for and I’ve really gotten into it myself. Now, I find that to be my passion—how these pieces can all fit together and make a stack look unique, where every girl is not going to have the exact same lineup on her finger. We work really hard at that to help our clients feel like an individual and like they have their own flair and style by mixing and matching all of these styles together.
What’s on your mind for your FW’18 line?
It’s going to be pretty diamond heavy. We’re playing with having specialty cuts made. There’s going to be a lot of different shapes coming into play. I was kind of inspired by an afternoon I spent in San Francisco about a year ago in the Museum of Modern Art and one artist in particular, Ellsworth Kelly, who does a lot of things with shapes and colors. From that, I kind of had the whole line planned in my head in one day. Now, it’s just bringing it to life, sourcing the stones and doing things that hopefully you haven’t seen before.
