Ippolita – Italian/American Jewelry Designer
Ippolita was born in Florence, Italy, on December 10, 1963, the daughter of an American mother and a Florentine father. After seeing an exhibit of Henry Moore’s sculptures in 1972, she began to think of art as a career and, beginning in 1982, attended the Instituto d’Arte, where the teachers are artists themselves. She spent two years studying ceramics and three years studying sculpture, receiving a Baccalaureate in Sculpture.
Meanwhile, in 1984, she helped with the staging of the Fortuny exhibit at Palazzo Strozzi, curated by her father, which was her initial exposure to the fashion world. Ippolita immigrated to the United States, eventually moving to New York City. In 1993, she began designing jewelry, founding a private label company for costume jewelry, which created collections for large retail chains. Her first 18K gold collection was launched at Bergdorf Goodman in 2000. In 2005, she unveiled her home collection of bronze, ceramic and glass sculptures at Neiman Marcus, and in 2008, she launched her silver line Ippolita 925.
p4A editorial staff, March 2011