Designer Dish
Shoshanna dresses up her dresses with QVC jewelry collection
What's Shoshanna wearing non-stop these days? This charm-like bracelet, that'swhat. $39.84, QVC.com
Subtle color changes are a signature of these ombre bangles, $53 at QVC.com.
Shoshanna Gruss is adding jewelry designer to her creative roster with apartnership with QVC.
Designer Shoshanna Gruss gets butterflies a good week in advance of her appearances on QVC. In between taking her five-year-old daughter to school and dance, the nerves start to bubble up. While she sits at a business meeting or stands in the kitchen cooking dinner the butterflies are flapping hard.
But when she steps in front of the camera and starts talking to shoppers sitting at home in their living rooms, all that worry slips away.
She debuted her namesake Shoshanna jewelry collection on QVC in August and takes to the air again Monday showing her latest designs, which includes an hourglass shaped watch she wears all the time.
“It’s funny really, because the night before I go on I am really nervous and there is that moment when we start I am nervous, but then my excitement about the jewelry takes over and I feel like I’m just sharing a great product with friends. Five hours seems like five minutes,” Gruss says.
And for the friends who aren’t able to commit to shopping from home at a set time, her jewelry collection is always available on the QVC website.
The design side of the business is certainly nothing new for Gruss, who got her start 13 years ago designing dresses and sportswear for women who were curvy and busty. Her dresses are constructed to flatter and support women whose bra size is more ample than a runway model’s measurements. As with her jewelry, she creates things with herself in mind, knowing what works best for her body and her lifestyle.
“I am my customer, so I design with myself in mind. Would I wear every single piece? Can I wear it to my daughter’s school, out with my husband and to a meeting?” she asks.
Her aesthetic has changed with her needs, but her love for the dress hasn’t waned a bit. She calls dresses her "uniforms," so accessories have to really be able to punch up a look.
“I am not a pants and blouse kind of girl. Accessories play a huge part in the way I dress because they have to always add something to what I’m wearing and still be me,” Gruss says. She occasionally steps outside her comfort zone, admitting to just buying a pair of pants online that she would probably be returning.
She seems much like many working mothers, splitting her time between a career and parenting. Trying to get it all done is a tall order and shopping online goes a long way in simplifying life. That’s one reason why she was thrilled to join QVC, which is also home to Rachel Zoe and Joan Rivers.
“I feel strongly about being inclusive and QVC does that,” Gruss says. “Fashion shouldn’t be scary or elitist and through QVC I can bring beautiful quality jewelry to people who don’t have major department stores where they live.”
QVC approached Gruss about a collaboration in an effort to reach a younger audience, and while she acknowledged a certain QVC stereotype, she says they are keeping up with the times, citing the recent Lanvin for H&M partnership and the rumored Tom Ford for H&M deal.
“They really tapped into all new ways to reach people and I think the economy has changed people too,” Gruss says. “There’s no shame in buying nice things that just happen to be at a better price point.”
She says the QVC audience was clearly open to new directions since her gunmetal gray pieces were fast sellers and because of the sheer quantity of items being made, the Shoshanna collection is very affordable. Case in point? The hour glass shaped watch Gruss wears constantly is under $40 and the set of ombre bangles are $53. Everything in the collection is under $100.
Gruss does have a retail life outside of QVC which includes her dress collection available locally at Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and her swimsuit line is available at La Mode Lingerie in River Oaks Shopping Center. She is also working with good friend and designer Charlotte Ronson on a capsule swimsuit collection. Ronson just may have given Gruss a few encouraging words about partnering with QVC, since Ronson has a lower priced line at JC Penney.
You can get an idea of who Gruss is by looking at her designs, which are feminine and strong with just enough sparkle and shimmer. Those same qualities are evident in her voice and demeanor too, which makes it easy to see why QVC chose her in the first place.
She’s just one of the girls.
