Jeweller Wilfredo Rosado's star power

With a perfect tan and chiselled good looks, Wilfredo Rosado looks like a model who could showcase his own creations, though the only piece of jewellery he wears is a silver ring. A master at creating pieces of jewellery that are "playful, decadent, and with nods to street culture", he has some of the most popular celebs vying for his work.

Gwyneth Paltrow, for instance, wore his Pink Plume earrings at the Grammy Awards earlier this year, immediately after the launch of his very first collection. The playful, gypsy-like ambience they exude belies the fact that they are made of 18k white gold and embellished with diamonds and tourmalines.

At around Dh245,000, there's nothing playful about the price tag. But then what would you expect from a person who apprenticed under enfant terrible Andy Warhol at his Interview magazine and spent more than two decades with Giorgio Armani?

Wilfredo, who was in Dubai recently for the launch of his first collection of jewellery (available at Bloomingdale's, The Dubai Mall), reminisces about the time he used to shop for diamonds on New York's 47th street with Warhol: "I picked up the sense of street culture from him," says the master designer. "He was able to bring the vastly different worlds of art, fashion and high society together in a playful manner and still make them cool." That is exactly what Wilfredo also tries to inject into his "fashion statements'' as he calls his jewellery. "That's the approach I have to my work," he says.

And that's perhaps the reason stars want to flaunt his designer pieces. Apart from Gwyneth, singer Rihanna sported one of his cameo rings at the Grammys. Actor and model Olivia Wilde too has been spotted wearing his jewellery. What elevates Wilfredo's stature as designer par excellence is that his pieces appeal to all generations - for instance, Hollywood diva Glenn Close, whom he knows from his Armani days, wears his jewellery.

Wilfredo first encountered Giorgio Armani when he was a New York University student pursuing medicine. "I wanted to be a paediatrician. I've always been good with children," he smiles.

He spent his days off doing assorted jobs including window dressing, where he was spotted by none other than Armani himself who, recognising talent when he saw it, promptly offered Wilfredo a full-time job at his shop. Not long after, Andy Warhol snapped him up to work on Interview.

Assisting on photo sessions with iconic fashion photographers like Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber were part of his learning curve. The street-inspired art scene spearheaded by artists such as Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat were to provide the grounding for his future designs.

"It was a graduate school in glamour and grit," Wilfredo says, looking back on those times. Wilfredo returned to Armani in 1989, joining the design team in Italy.

Five years later, he quit and "came back to New York as fashion director of Armani," he says. "I wanted to reach out to the younger generation, add a little street to the sophistication and elegance."

Wilfredo went independent in 2008, working with luxury brands such as Versace, with whom he collaborated on designing limited-edition fine jewellery pieces co-created by artists such as Marc Quinn and filmmaker Julian Schnabel, among others, and sold to benefit the Whitney Museum. That experience led him to pursue his own dream - the creation of his own fine jewellery line.

"It was a secret ambition for long," says Wilfredo. "I've been intrigued by the idea of taking something precious, like diamonds, and creating something totally different in spirit." 

‘Diamonds aren't so precious'

Wilfredo's way of treating precious stones and metals in a slightly irreverent manner is perhaps what sets his designs apart. "I treat diamonds in a way that's not so precious," he says. That can, however, be misleading.

His couture pieces are handmade at a legendary and highly respected atelier in Place Vendôme in Paris. He tells the tale of how he got them to agree to make his designs. "I knew I would not get an appointment because they are so busy, so I simply gatecrashed with my designs. As luck would have it, I met the head who took pity on me and leafed through my designs," says Wilfredo. 

Feather in his cap

For the feathers that form an important part of some of his designs, Wilfredo approached Maison Lemarié, the master feather workers who cater to Chanel, Dior and Balenciaga, among others.

The feathers - Wilfredo prefers ‘plumes' - are interchangeable. The plumes on Gwyneth Platrow's Pink Plume earrings are attached by magnets and can be unclipped to be worn without them or switched for a different colour.

Even the most mundane things can inspire Wilfredo. His set of ‘industrial' designs - with necklaces and bracelets designed like wheel cogs - were inspired by his street jaunts.

"Most designers find a stone and build around it," he says. "I'm inspired by periods and trends, feelings really."

His fringe cuff, for instance, was inspired by Beyoncé's dance moves. "I love the way she moves, but I found that her jewellery never moves with her," he said. So he set about correcting that. The Beyoncé-inspired Fringe collection has parts that move in tandem with the wearer's movements.

Functional is not a word you would associate with haute couture jewellery. But Wilfredo aims to be just that. He designed some pieces when the economic condition was not very pleasant - a white gold lariat necklace (around Dh442,000) with a single South Sea pearl has a removable feather flower that can be worn as a brooch. The pearl pendant that's part of the necklace can also be worn separately, as also the chains.

"I thought the customer should get maximum value for their money when the economy was bad," Wilfredo says.

How can you not love him?!