GEM issue





ONLINE content

ARBITERS
Value Added Paul Wilmot interview by Idris Mignott
Sexy Haute Damaris Evans interview by Kathryn Cullen
The Gem Weaver Mish Tworkowski interview by Alan L. Scott

BEAUTY
Napoleon Complex photography by Jamie Nelson
Naked Ambition Joanne Gair interview by Dale Johnson
A Girl's Best Friend photography by Andrew Matusik

BON APPETIT
Questions for Annisa's Anita Lo
Questions for Indochine's Jean-Marc Houmard

FASHION
Portrait of a Lady Carolina Herrera interview by Iké Udé
Wicked Ways photography by Iké Udé
Dangerous Liasons photography by Simone Falcetta
Madame X photography by Iké Udé

KULTURE & ART CINEMA
Saint Richard of Celluloid Richard Pena interview by Brandon Judell
He Can Bark in French Robin Williams interview by Brandon Judell
No Botox For Her Mena Suvari interview by Brandon Judell
No Cock & Bull for Him Michael Winterbottom interview by Brandon Judell

OFF THE WALL THE COLOR OF MONEY
Franco Maria Bruccoleri

REVIEW
aRUDE Comment by Iké Udé
Telescope A close-up of the stars, notables, scenesters and picturesque dilettantes

ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN
Renaissance Man Barnaba Fornasetti interview by Iké Udé

STYLE
Element of Style aRUDE's template for style

aRUDE comment

In no particular order of things, let's savor the very sensations that a mere mention of precious stones can arouse. Recall opaque-to-translucent stones, such as the opal, moonstone, jade, and turquoise. Or transparent stones, fashioned en cabochon, such as emeralds, amethysts, and garnets. Conjure, in a free association, the poetry of agate, lapis lazuli, onyx, sardonyx, cape amethyst, quartz, ruby, sapphire, diamond, carnelian, blue topaz, chalcedony, ammolite, jasper, tourmaline, citrine, coral, pearl, and alexandrite.

With such rumination in mind, our Gem Issue cover girl, Larissa Kulikova, chose a Chopard necklace and earrings for her portraiture. And Dale Johnson lovingly powdered, and deftly wrought, her equally gem-like coiffe. Inside the issue, precious stone designer, Mish Tworkowski, shares some bejeweled secrets with Alan L. Scott, expounding on the nuances of the variegated nature of gems familiar and esoteric.

Flaunting fair, with determination and an effortless devotion, the New York based designer, Carolina Herrera, continues to propagate a rare currency of elegance in this age of cheap-chic. Aiming for nothing less than the top of the food chain, she dresses first lady, Laura Bush, and unceasingly seeks perfection in cut and style. Herrera is an utter gem.

Milanese-based Barnaba Fornasetti, the heir to Piero Fornasetti, ruminates on the exquisite burden of his inheritance: overseeing the august, and near-mythical, house of Fornasetti design. Working in a range of mediums, from ceramic, to glass, repoussage, embroidery, mosaic, and even frescos, Barnaba continues in a family tradition that spans back to its patriarch's collaborations with such art luminaries as Fontana and De Chirico.

Michael Winterbottom, the fiercely independent British filmmaker, and certainly one of his country's most prolific, professes to only make the choice films that he likes, and not those kinds of films others might deem necessary for his career. His independent spirit—gem-like—is a rare thing to find in our Hollywood movie age.

The young and attractive ex-model-turned-actress, Mena Suvari, talks with aRude cinema editor, Brandon Judell. With translucent frankness, Mena discusses her roles in such movies as Sugar & Spice (2001), American Beauty (1999), Spun (2002), and the David Mamet film, Edmund (2005), in which she played a character named "Whore".

And inside these pages we also learn how the once legendary Parisian couture house, Capucci, is being steadily and surely restored to its former glory, by none other than the Milanese/Parisian based maverick, Franco Maria Bruccoleri. Soon, in Franco's hand, Capucci will not only regain its weight in gold, but also the gem-like aura of its founder.

This is an issue of gems. I trust you will enjoy basking in the luster.

- Iké Udé

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