Red Carpet | The Girl Who Wore The £35,000 South Pearl Diamond Rubies Gold Tiara By Wendy Brandes
“The girl who wore a £35,000 South Sea Pearl, diamond, gold and ruby tiara.”
Muse to the Vivienne Westwood (yes the innovator of ‘Punk’ herself) actress and model Tolula Adeyemi is a British Hollywood based star. A darling of the fashion world, Tolula was first scouted as a teen by a leading UK model scout. She has gone on to conquer the fashion world, fronting several brands including Vivienne Westwood. Harking to the talent of the likes of Grace Jones and Kate Moss, fashion brands clamour to dress her whilst the likes Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue hailed her as a style icon. Gracing leading best dressed lists, this inherent talent has broken glass ceilings and opened up doors previously shut. She was a beauty icon with her striking looks (the notorious short crop, brows, lips, nose and eyes) before the era of the beauty influencer.
On Oscars 2021 Adeyemi attended a viewing party and an after party,
For the occasion she looked memorable.
High Street (yes her stylist went there!) by Vampire’s Wife x H&M meets fine (and we mean the high end of the fine jewellery sector) jewellery by award winning jeweller Wendy Brandes. She makes diamonds that simultaneously resonate with the wearer while all the while challenging them to be bolder, stronger and more daring.
In these photos Tolula is wearing Wendy’s ‘Juana Peekaboo Skull’ ring. It opens up to reveal an endearing skull with huge diamond eyes! This is one of the hallmarks of Wendy’s work. There is always a hidden facet. See more on that ring here . Also on Tolula is Wendy’s ‘Borgia Poison’ ring and as her name suggests this diamond encrusted beaut opens up to reveal a poison chamber! Fuelled by the stories of strong women, treachery and bravery Wendy’s jewels are delightful! Dark and eventful, these jewels have a life of their own.
Talking jewellery that can stand her ground… how amazing is Tolula’s tiara? This is no ‘sissy wall flower meets pageant’ tiara. This is a Wendy Brandes tiara so that would mean deliciously dark, gutsy and beautiful. We are honoured to have a quote from the jewellery designer herself on her tiara! This is what she said… “This tiara was the culmination of years of planning for a darkly romantic 18K yellow gold headpiece. I wanted a jewel that was beautiful and noticeable yet still subtle, rather than glittering — perfect for a true warrior queen.” The tiara (each made is one of a kind) has 76 diamonds, rubies, a large South Sea pearl and blackened gold. This is hedonism, this is opulence, this is the ‘Royal jewels’ meets ‘Elizabeth Taylor taste in jewellery’ sort of wearable jewellery. This art piece is called the ‘Queen of Scots’ snake tiara and she is no less than £35,000. Now that dear readers is luxury… Fall head over heels in lust with it here.
A tiara for for a queen! We love this on Tolula! The dark romance of it all lends quite well to this lace dress by Vampire’s Wife x H&M. Her stylist (our very own editor in chief!) Marian Kwei (formerly Kihogo) says … “Tolula and I knew this dress (though just high-street) was the one when we realised that a marriage of the dress to Wendy’s tiara was inevitable.
Also on Adeyemi is Wendy’s gold ‘Cleopatra’ earrings. The designer describes them as “two rivers of gold that descend down to your ears.” Guess what these gorgeous earrings are famous for? Gracing the loves of Kim Cattral in Sex and the Ciry 2! Read more on them here.
Tolula looked stunning!
The look is just the right amount of ‘dark’, indulgent and striking. The jewellery by Wendy Brandes makes it.
Marian our editor-in-chief who styled this look told us a secret and we love a good story. Tolula was due to be dressed by fashion designer Ana Sekularac. The dress was purple and the vision was Ana’s signature explorative dance with structure, Art Deco, ‘lightness’ and the feminist. The fashion house flew the dress to LA but a very naughty international package delivery company didn’t deliver the dress in time. Cue a scramble and some inventive brainstorming between stylist and Tolula and the Vampire’s Wife x H&M moment was born.
See jewellery by Wendy Brandes here.
Fall in love with the work of Ana Sekularc here and she has a new platform called UnShe.
Kind thanks to Wendy Brandes and Ana Sekularac.