Leave it to an emerging designer who hails from a country famous for understatement to come up with a lush, over-the-top accessories collection that includes an elaborate bespoke feather headdress. And to think, it almost didn't happen.

"When I graduated, I wasn't actually going to go into the industry," Kent-based designer Rheanna Lingham has said. "I wanted to do it at some point, but thought I needed lots of money and wasn't established enough to start up on my own. But things kept happening without me doing anything. For example, I was invited to show my work at an international graduate show in Holland. So I thought, why don't I carry on? It's still a big thing, but I realized I was actually quite capable of doing it. I got a start-up loan and started my business on January 1, 2006."

Her new collection of necklaces and earrings for spring, appropriately titled "Feather Your Nest," is the perfect way to make a statement and embrace the light as a feather trend seen on the runways of heavy hitters like Erin Fetherston and Sue Stemp this season. "My recent work is based on the 19th century fashion for using dead birds to ornament clothing," Lingham explains. "Through my work I have questioned why women wore dead birds, and how these morbid and perhaps barbaric fashions have instilled a beauty and exoticism that has caused cush objects to remain desirable, despite being condemned by the majority." Her upcoming pieces for fall, which also incorporate gold, porcelain, velvet and pearls, take a similar close look at the ladies of Georgian society.

My recommendation? Grab one of Lingham's Chicken Feather Ball necklaces (it looks much better than it sounds, I promise!), and prepare to fight off a flock of jealous fashionistas. Just don't wait. We hear they're practically flying off the shelves.

For more information about Rheanna Lingham please visit www.rheannalingham.com.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:accessories, Emerging Designer, spring 2008

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