A Lasting Inspiration

Trends come and go-- as they must-- but beauty is timeless, connecting to ideas from the past while also pointing us toward the future.

We felt that deep echo of beauty beyond time when we first saw a photograph of young Anike wearing her mother's GS pearl flyers for her high school graduation,
... an image which instantly recalled to us Vermeer's classic portrait Girl with a Pearl Earring (we wrote about it here).
When Anike turned 20, her mother surprised her with the gift of her very own GS pearl flyers, so she would have her own to wear as she stepped ahead into her adult life. And Anike took the inspiration we had felt and created the next generation: this stunning self-portrait she took for a college photography and art class, part of a series. She "inserted" herself into iconic paintings and images, incorporating elements of her heritage and of contemporary black culture, to create representations that look more like her. This one she titled "(Black) Girl, Pearl Earring", as a nod to the original.

Fantastic creativity, and, yes, that timeless beauty of image and spirit we celebrate in all we do.

Thank you, Anike, for sharing. Keep glowing! We're delighted to know you.

To beauty, every day.

Gabrielle