Betony Vernon
 | This article contains promotional content. (June 2013) |
Betony Vernon | |
|---|---|
| Betony Vernon portrait 2013 by Lara Giliberto Betony Vernon portrait by Lara Giliberto (2012) | |
| Born | August 15, 1968 Tazewell, Virginia |
| Nationality | American, Italian |
| Education | Virginia Commonwealth University, Domus Academy |
| Occupation(s) | designer,writer |
| Known for | jewelry design |
| Label(s) | B.V. Betony Vernon,Paradise Found |
Betony Vernon is jewelry designer who lives and works in Milan and Paris. She is known for jewellery based on eroticism and sexual ceremony.[citation needed]
Biography
Born on August 15, 1968 in Tazewell, Virginia, she is the third of four daughters. Her mother was a British civil rights activist/art historian Ann Dearsley Vernon and her father was an American pilot/inventor.[citation needed] In 1990 she graduated Cum Laude from Virginia Commonwealth University with a degree in Art History and a double minor in Religious Studies and Goldsmithing.[citation needed]
Career
After graduation, Vernon moved to Florence, Italy to direct the metalsmithing program at Fuji Studio Art Workshop, and open her atelier where she created one-of-a-kind objects for the concept store Luisa Via Roma.[citation needed] She also worked as an actor and a fashion model but abandoned these potential careers in order to refine her jewelry-making skills with Florentine masters of repoussé, mosaic, and engraving and jewelry fabrication.[citation needed]
After moving to Milan she earned a master’s degree in Industrial Design from Domus Academy.[citation needed] At the same time she founded “Atelier B.V.”, her present-day studio. In 1995 and 1998 she designed for Pampaloni, a Florentine silversmith. During that time, she was also appointed as design director for the Italian interior design firm Fornasetti. She continues to develop a jewelry line that respects the artistic matrix of the whimsical style of Piero Fornasetti.[citation needed]
She has collaborated with several fashion designers, including Missoni, Alain Tondowski, Gianfranco Ferré and Jean-Paul Gaultier.[1] In 2006 she designed a neckpiece for Swarovski’s Runway Rocks project that was later used by Lady Gaga for her “Paparazzi” video.[2][citation needed] She has held design seminars at both the European Institute of Design and Domus Academy in Milan, Italy.[citation needed] Her work has been featured in a number of international exhibitions, from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London to the Triennale in Milan and the Museum of Sex in New York City.[citation needed]
In 2006 she worked with Los Angeles based photographer Jeff Burton in the museum house of Carlo Molino in Turin, Italy.[citation needed] In 2008 she made “L’Envol”, a short video for SHOWstudio and her first collaboration with Nick Knight.[citation needed] At the request of MTV Italy, Betony wrote, starred in, and co-produced “The Boudoir”. These seven episodes aired on Love Line, a show that delivered sexual information to young people.[citation needed] She is one of 20 women interviewed by Virginie Despentes for her a pro-sex documentary “Mutantes”, released in 2010.[citation needed] In November 2012 Vernon designed the "Origin" chair and the "Origin" monument to be exhibited at the Triennale Design Museum in Milan in the context of the exhibition "KAMA - Sex & Design" (Dec 4th, 2012 - March 10, 2013.)[3] The culmination of over 20 years of design work, research, and personal exploration is her book “The Boudoir Bible – The Unhibited Sex Guide for Today”, published in February 2013.[4]
Notes
References
- Triennale di Milano (2012). "Kama Sex and Design", http://www.triennale.it/en/exhibitions/next/2200-kama-sex-and-design-2, citation retrieved June 18, 2013
- LadyGagaVEVO (2009). "Lady Gaga - Paparazzi", 2:30 - 3:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2smz_1L2_0, November 25, 2009
- Alex Fury (2009). "Paris Womenswear A/W 09 Jean Paul Gaultier", http://showstudio.com/collection/jean_paul_gaultier_paris_womenswear_a_w_09/show_report, March 7, 2009
- Brenda Strohmaier (2013). "Her mit der Gerte", Welt am Sonntag, p. 44-46, March 17, 2013
External links
- Vogue.it - Federica Frosini (Autumn 2011)
- Vogue.it - Teresa Cannatà (Autumn 2010)
- Vanity Fair - Frank DiGiacomo (Autumn 2009)
- Fashion Week Daily - Uhovski, Valentine (March 2009)
- MTV profile - MTV Italy (2009)
- Fall winter fashion show - Jean-Paul Gaultier (2009)
- Style File - Iké Udé, Harpers and Collins (2008)
- Films L’envole (Take Flight) - Nick knight’s SHOWstudio (2008)
- The New York Times Magazine - Hawgood, Alex (Spring 2008)
- La-Couture - Beaulieu, Denyse (February 2007)
- Telegraph UK - Patalay, Ajesh (2006)
- Allemandi - Umberto Allemandi & Co. (2005)