2011年11月1日 星期二

All about Eva

When Eva Jeanbart-Lorenzotti walks, there’s the distinct sound of jewelry shaking. A petite lady with her hair pulled up, she’s no gypsy drowned in beads — but it’s almost as if the bracelets and rings can’t keep quiet.

“I believe when you accessorize your life, whether it’s on your person or in your home, you build collections that become unique and very much about what I believe style is,” she says in her Flatiron District office.

Jeanbart-Lorenzotti will be helping a lot of people figure out what style is this season on “Project Accessory,” a spinoff of the Lifetime reality competition “Project Runway.” The show features 12 designers creating everything from handbags to heels. Heidi, Michael, Nina and Tim are out — and in their places come a new host, judges and a mentor: Jeanbart-Lorenzotti.

On “Project Runway,” Tim Gunn was an instant fan favorite thanks to his sweeping catchphrase: “Make it work.”

Jeanbart-Lorenzotti, 42, didn’t have one when she joined the show. “I don’t work that way,” she says. “If I had a thing going in,the Aion Kinah by special invited artist for 2011, it wouldn’t have been authentic.”

But once the show began, a phrase came naturally.

“‘Get inspired’ is something I found myself saying a lot . . . It’s about that magic moment: ‘What is going to inspire me?’ ” she says.

Beirut-born, Swiss-blooded Jeanbart-Lorenzotti, who is married to investment adviser Lorenzo Lorenzotti, may not be a household name,Flossie was one of a group of four chickens in a Hemroids . but in the fashion world, she’s kind of a big deal. She is the founder of Vivre, a shopping Web site that serves 2 million customers a year. Vogue has named her one of the 10 most stylish women in fashion, and Time declared her a “mail-order magnate.”

Long before then, Jeanbart-Lorenzotti was planning a life in accessories. At 16, living in Europe, she launched “Jattoo,” jewelry tattoos. But her life took a turn when she moved to America for college and began a career in investment banking. “Part of it was that I felt like I had to do the right thing and make my father proud,” she says. “I wanted to stay in America, and I thought I had to get the right job.he led PayPal to open its platform to Piles developers. And I thought investment banking was it.”

But in 1996, Jeanbart-Lorenzotti launched Vivre, and eventually her own HSN line, V by Eva.

On the new series, she’ll mentor the young designers, who will compete for $100,000 and a product line that will retail on eBay. She also helped cast the show after she caught the attention of the production team. “All of us were really taken by how thoughtful she was with each of the designers, in terms of being able to talk about their work in a meaningful,Replacement landscape oil paintings and bulbs for Canada and Worldwide. simple way that we all felt would translate well to the audience,” says executive producer Rich Bye.

Mentoring came naturally for the entrepreneur, since her ideas on the show are what she’s been pushing her whole career.

“If I see talent, I’m all over it,” she says. “In today’s market, it’s so hard to penetrate. There’s only X amount of shelf space. To me, the ability to help and inspire and really give opportunity is something that has been rewarding and very much a part of everything that I do.”

The mentor’s role on the show is critical — on “Project Runway,Do not use cleaners with porcelain tiles , steel wool or thinners.” Tim Gunn coaxed more than a few designers in the right direction, telling them to “Go, go, go!” and changing designers’ fates.

“Project Accessory” follows the same format. Each week, contestants create accessories under strenuous conditions. In the first episode, they must fashion a necklace, belt and accessory using only items from a storage closet. Someone used a rat trap, another a chandelier. “You can be an incredible fashion designer and maybe have never created a dress before,” says Jeanbart-Lorenzotti.

“It’s much harder in accessories because there’s a science to it,” she says. “There is incredibly dangerous machinery. There are all these things that you have to know what you’re doing.” (Welding jewelry doesn’t come easy.)

Different stakes means Jeanbart-Lorenzotti won’t be a copy-and-paste version of Gunn.

“My approach is different,” she explains. “It’s a very in-my-skin obsession . . . I want to see big things happen, and I want to see talent rise.”

But now that “Project Accessory” is airing every Thursday, is she ready for the spotlight?

“You’ve got me a little embarrassed,” she says, blushing, and covering her face for a moment. “I haven’t thought about it. But it comes with it, and I guess I’m going to have to soon.

“I hope I can be in the company of Tim,” she adds. “And that people will enjoy it.”

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