“Fun, but still wearable.” That’s a succinct descriptor of Harley Viera-Newton’s highly collectible, vintage-inspired dresses, but it also applies to her new capsule of bags, earrings, and pajamas debuting for the holidays. In addition to her vast collection of ’50s-era tea dresses and ’60s-ish printed midi frocks, Viera-Newton has an “infamous” cache of itty-bitty vintage bags—none of which are particularly suited to 2020, seeing as that they don’t hold a phone. “My friends are always teasing me about my bags, so when I told them I wanted to design my own, they said, ‘Let me guess—they’re tiny,’” Viera-Newton says. “But I compromised, and they do fit a phone!” For proof: The DJ-slash-designer carried the “quilted” clear resin bag to her launch party last week, and if you zoom in on the photo, you’ll notice the iPhone 11 Pro Max tucked inside (with room to spare).
Like her dresses, the bags and jewelry were designed to fill the holes in Viera-Newton’s closet. “HVN has always been driven by pieces I want but can’t find, or vintage pieces I’d like to update [for today], and I thought it was really difficult to find an evening bag that actually goes with everything,” she explains. Of course, aside from her sequined numbers, most HVN dresses aren’t what you’d consider “evening.” Her best-selling Morgan dress takes its cues from ’40s day dresses, with a little collar and ruched sleeves, so Viera-Newton designed the resin clutches and chainmail shoulder bags with more casual moments in mind, too. “I’m a magpie, so I’m always drawn to glitter, sequins, rhinestone, chainmail,” she says. “The bags fit really well into the existing HVN aesthetic, but I think they’d work just as well with denim.”
The same is true of her first earrings: a pair of chunky rhinestone hoops, which have already been spotted on Margot Robbie and Selena Gomez. Viera-Newton’s Instagram reveals the many ways she herself has worn them: with a quirky sweater for ramen in Tokyo, with a black gown and heels on the red carpet. “They just immediately add a fun element to any outfit,” she says. “But I’m hoping every item in the HVN world is something you’d want to invest in, because it still has a timeless quality. I’m never looking to design anything too trend-driven, or something that will go out of style.”
The earrings (priced at $145) and bags (starting at $375) will be available on Net-a-Porter and HVN’s website starting Monday, and will surely go fast now that holiday parties are in full swing. In the meantime, you can pick up Viera-Newton’s other new category: ultra-soft pajamas in her signature cherry and cheetah prints. “I’ve done silk pajamas in the past, but silk is so much upkeep,” she says. “I wanted to recreate them in a cozier, easier fabric, and since I moved to Los Angeles, I’ve been able to explore all of the options for downtown manufacturing. We found the perfect modal jersey, which is the coziest thing ever.” They’re priced at $175. Should you choose to splurge for Net-a-Porter’s same-day delivery (and pick up a new dress while you’re at it), you could feasibly spend the whole weekend in HVN. Shop the current collection now, and bookmark your calendar for Monday’s drop.
Source: Vogue.com
