EXCLUSIVE: Jewelry Designer Mary MacGill Launches First Men’s Products
Jewelry designer Mary MacGill is expanding into the men’s category with her first collection.
The Germantown, N.Y.-based designer is launching her first men’s products on Friday, offering her first silver collection since debuting the brand 10 years ago. The collection offers bracelets, cuff links and earrings with pieces starting at $125 and going up to $500.
More from WWD
“It’s not specifically a men’s collection — it’s just the expression of a softer masculinity,” MacGill explained. “We looked at our styles that we have already, like our Bone Chain for instance, is one of our really good sellers in our 14-karat [gold] line. I make that with really delicate wire, so I pinpointed that and was like, ‘How great would it be to make it in a chunky silver and what if we adorned it with a couple of stones?’ So, it was really an evolution of our existing styles and seeing where we might bulk up the metal and use a heavier stone in the same style.”
MacGill explained that her men’s jewelry collection has been in the works for roughly six years, as over the years, she and her mother had been collecting stones and materials that they could see being part of a cohesive men’s collection.
Key pieces from the collection include the men’s version of MacGill’s Bone Chain, chain necklaces featuring stone-like lapis, single earrings with colorful stones and silver cuff links, among others.
“The customer is someone who likes to wear mementos,” MacGill said. “Someone who really likes to wear something that signifies nature, time or a memory, because I do feel like the stones that we’re using kind of have this almost historical quality to them.”
To celebrate the collection, MacGill is hosting a pop-up shop in New York City from Friday through Sunday at 109 Thompson Street. The pop-up will offer the full men’s collection, as well as other styles from the brand.
MacGill’s collection comes at a time when the men’s jewelry category has been booming, with more male customers experimenting with the accessories for their everyday looks.
“It’s just a wonderful way to express yourself and have fun,” MacGill said on the growing category. “So much of what jewelry is is creating a connection to a time and a place. That’s so much of what our brand is — it’s jewelry inspired by a sense of place.”
Going forward, MacGill plans to continue growing her brand’s men’s assortment by staying in tune with her customers’ preferences and sticking to her established design codes.
“My designs are mostly inspired by the stones that we find through our vendors, and then also looking through history or artists making small sculptures,” she said. “It’ll be a combination of understanding what this new customer base is responding to — that’s really the most important thing to look at when you launch a collection — and then taking that as a cue.”
Best of WWD
