Name

Eddie Borgo.

Education

Born in Columbus OH, Eddie lived up and down the East Coast of the US until arriving in New York 12 years ago, intending to become a fashion designer.

While attending art history classes at Hunter College, he started showing an interest in the history of adornment. Subsequently in 2002, he first made one of a kind pieces for international stylists including Patti Wilson, Camilla Nickerson, and Tabitha Simmons.

In the summer of 2008 Eddie created jewelry for Philip Lim‘s spring-summer 2009 show, which launched his namesake collection for women and men.

Breakthrough

“The definition of success keeps changing as we, as a company, continue to grow.

One milestone was when Camilla Nickerson shot one of my cuffs on Tilda Swinton for W. Other milestones: when we first sold at Colette,Barney’s New York, and Luisa Via Roma. More recently, a huge step was receiving the CFDAaward as emerging accessory designer.”

Today, the Eddie Borgo collection is sold in about 94 doors around the world.

About him

Eddie loves the energy of New York, rock music and historical costume jewelry which are blended in every creation he makes.  His aesthetic  can be summed  up as high-end meets street style. Take, for instance his best selling iconic cone bracelet – a geometric shape in rose gold covered with pavè stones.

“I love reinventing familiar silhouettes and giving them a rock and roll sensibility. I believe rock and roll is the new classic”, he states.

His ad campaigns always feature modern personalities (Vanessa Traina, Lauren Santo Domingo, Giovanna Battaglia, Tabitha Simmons) who love and understand fashion, are strong supporters of the brand and exemplify the image of the woman he designs for.

Awards

In 2010 Eddie was awarded runner up in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund, and in 2011 won the CFDA Swarovsky award for accessory design.

Outstanding qualities

Deeply rooted in the superb tradition of America costume jewelry, Eddie’s creations are a study in contrasts: glamour and punk, feminine and aggressive, sharp and soft. The jewelry is cast from hand-carved wax models and the crystals and other materials are always hand cut either in New York or in Rhode Island. Eddie also works with a master metal plater in Rhode Island whose techniques are unchanged since the turn of the XX century.

What’s next

“This is the first time we’ve launched a holiday, resort and a pre-fall collection. We use these seasons to test new techniques, and new silhouettes. The holiday collection is based on our classic shapes but made in a more intimate way.

For the near future we contemplate moving into fine jewelry. It seems quite inevitable: we now produce in New York and Rhode Island, where both costume and fine jewelry are made, and the idea behind the brand is always to sell the costume jewelry to a woman who also wears fine jewelry.”

His advice

“Follow your interests and create your own aesthetic. Stay dedicate to them. And do not follow trends.”

Inspirations

Eddie is inspired by different sources from the famous American costume jewelers such as Trifari to his French hero, the eclecticPierre Cardin.

For his Fall 2011 collection he was captivated by the German biologist Ernst Haeckel book “Art Forms in Nature”, a collection of drawings that are both organic and architectural. “I’m always taking natural shapes and breaking them down into more linear forms, and this book sort of did that for me”, he says.

The Spring ’12 collection will be a free reinterpretation of Robert Mapplethorpee’s geometrically constructed picture frames, a production which is less known than his photographs, but equally powerful.”

Icons

Rock and roll groupies like Bebe Buell; r’n’r legends such as David Bowie and Patti Smith; Warhol’s girls from Edie Sedwick to Bianca Jagger.

And, of course, Madonna.

Favorite designers

“I adore Christopher Kane for his constant experiments. I also admireRiccardo Tisci at Givenchy for reinventing the brand in such a fantastic way, and Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein for his ability to really master minimalism.”

Personal style

“I tend to wear the same thing every day. I love my Oxford shirt,  jeans and skinny black tie. Plus, I always carry a briefcase and a hat, which I bought many years ago at Arnold Hatters on 38^th St. The shop is no longer there so I don’t know what I will do if I ever lose it.”

Lives in

New York.