SERENITY BAY

I like waking up in Geneva, walking down the Boulevard Georges Favon with the morning sunshine warming my back, crossing the milling bank district where my shadow reflects in the glass walls like hundreds of sea waves, going up to the city’s old town that is always calm and restful. There is an arcade I particularly like there, one where the Geneva-born brand called Rita&Zia is located. Having been an admirer of their iconic sautoirs and delicate golden pieces since I began my blog, I’m feeling proud beyond reason of the brand’s growth. See, there are not many swiss designers, and even less successful swiss designers – yet Sandrine Barabinot, the woman behind Rita&Zia, established her brand not only as a major national success, but also as an internationally known name, with her easily-recognisable designs being now spotted on the streets of Saint Tropez, Lyon, Bruxelles, Beirut, Saint Barth and many, many more.

I enter the boutique and lose control of my hands that simultaneously grab some gypsy-like pieces from the current spring/summer collection, Serenity Bay – pastel beads, golden shells and retro madonnas – and some thinner pieces, some Intemporels, a permanent line made of lucky charms such as the the cross, the skull or the hand of Fatima to name only a few. You can pick one piece and it will make a statement, but I’ve never been able to stop at one, and, bead and bead, gem after gem, you always end up with several pieces that clink against each other and shine through contrasts of metals and semi-precious stones – for it seems that stacking have never looked that good than with Rita&Zia’s pieces.