Will Gossip Girl fuel a must-have necklace craze?New York–After a mid-season break, the hit CW show Gossip Girl returns with an all-new episode on Monday, March 8, and jewelry will be getting a primetime spotlight.
Character Blair Waldorf will be back and sporting a signature jewelry piece that one designer is hoping will be the new horseshoe necklace (the trend fueled by character Carrie Bradshaw’s go-to bauble on Sex and the City).
In earlier seasons, Blair donned Alex Woo’s “Little Letters” diamond necklace featuring her initials, but her new signature will be the designer’s diamond “Fleur de Lis” necklace from the “Little Faith” collection, a symbol of purity and light befitting of Blair’s ideals and how she would like the world to see her (fans of the show familiar with the character’s cunning ways know otherwise).
In addition to the necklace’s time on air, the network is said to be launching a secret Gossip Girl promotion around it, making for some extra high-profile exposure.
Available in 14-karat white gold and encrusted with pave diamonds, the pendant features Alex Woo’s signature shiny beveled edges and the designer’s signature. The necklace retails for $728, but many of the designer’s pieces are also available in sterling silver at prices that are a little more high school friendly, with metal-only pendant necklaces retailing for $148 a piece.
A Gossip Girl veteran, Alex Woo has worked with the show’s costume department since the series’ first season, helping to incorporate jewelry that adds a personal, sometimes humorous, touch to each character.
The sidekicks of the show’s newest “Queen Bee,” Jenny Humphrey, each wear an Alex Woo “Little Number” necklace, symbolizing the girls’ social ranking with the numbers “1,” “2″ and “3.”
As for Jenny herself, whose persona is bold and rebellious, the costume department has often accessorized her with Woo’s “Little Vegas” spade necklace in yellow gold, from a collection of designs inspired by “Sin City chic.” The piece has often been layered with edgy, modern pieces, helping to add to Jenny’s fashion-forward character.
“I love that Gossip Girl uses my jewelry to help tell the stories of each of the characters,” Woo said in a media release. “It’s exactly the reason why I designed the collections–whether it’s a favorite number, or a lucky elephant, each icon represents something special and meaningful to the wearer. It’s all about telling your own story and making it personal.”
When the tour de force that is market week whips through Las Vegas this month, exhibitors will, as always, be offering up the latest and greatest designs. But this year, the stakes have been raised. With buyers more cautious and less inclined to gamble on merchandise for their already overstocked stores, suppliers need to offer products that either hits the bull’s eye as an instant classic or is dazzlingly one of a kind.
