Wendy Brandes Taps ‘Style Crone’ for New Campaign

New York—Jewelry designer Wendy Brandes is known for her bold, unique pieces, and now she’s taking those characteristics and extending them to her latest campaign.

The designer has tapped 76-year-old model and fashion blogger Judith Boyd to be the face of her brand, embodying the fact that fine jewelry is desired and treasured by women of all ages.

The Denver-based Boyd spent most of her career working as a psychiatric nurse and then caring for victims of head and spinal cord injuries, and on her blog said that choosing her outfits was a way to not only express herself but also serve as a form of meditation as she approached her day.

She went on to co-own a hat shop in the 1980s and sold vintage clothing in an antique mall and on consignment from the 1990s onward.

After losing her husband to cancer in 2011, she fully embraced her fashion as a form of art and expression and eventually began documenting how she did that through her blog, Style Crone.

The new campaign featuring Boyd will be released across Wendy Brandes’ website and social media as well as on the Style Crone blog and social channels.  

“I’ve known Judith through her blog Style Crone for nearly 10 years, and I’ve watched her look evolve from chic to absolutely regal,” Brandes said. “Certain jewelry themes I work with—like skulls and snakes—are too often dismissed as ‘punk’ when they’ve actually been a basis for high jewelry art for centuries or even millennia. To personify the history and majesty that fuels my work, I knew I had to work with Judith.”

In the images, Boyd models Brandes’ new “Carpe Diem” designs, featuring single black diamonds cut into skull shapes, the largest of which weigh more than 4.5 carats. The collection launched this spring and ranges in retail price from $8,000 to $20,000.

The campaign also features the jewelry designer’s “Memento Mori” skull designs and her “Queen of Scots” serpent set, which includes a solid 18-karat gold tiara with a South Sea pearl.

All pieces are one-of-a-kind or limited edition, available on 1stdibs.com and through brick-and-mortar retailers who participate in Brandes’ concierge service.