If there is one thing 2008 will be remembered for, it’ll be for bringing back big, bold Dynasty-era jewellery. We saw it on the runways at Balenciaga, Lanvin, Vera Wang and Louis Vuitton. We also saw it on the red carpet. Remember that 1,400-carat rough-cut diamond necklace Nicole Kidman wore to the Oscars in February? We even saw it on the campaign trail, where Michelle Obama brought back the brooch with an Erickson Beamon starburst at the Democratic National Convention.Although many of us may just now be discovering costume jewellery, Sonia Boyajian has been designing and wearing it since 2001. It’s been a good year for her: Boyajian designed Scarlett Johansson’s 3-carat, gum-ball-size diamond engagement ring, was approached by Anthropologie to do a collection for the chain and met her soon-to-be husband on a hiking trail.To Boyajian’s delight, she discovered that her fiance, songwriter Alexander Rousmaniere, is the grandson of New York art dealer Klaus Perls, who launched sculptor Alexander Calder’s career. Boyajian is a lifelong fan of the artist, who invented mobiles in 1931. When you look at her kinetic pieces ($300 to $1,800), you see that they are rooted in fantasy, both delicate and sculptural. She makes ample use of wire—cutting it into carefully balanced cascading arcs, dangling onyx beads on a necklace, coiling it into a ring, wrapping it around chunky crystals and dramatic feathers to create a headpiece, and bending it into a fish shape suspended from a choker—always designing three-dimensionally, instead of on a flat surface.New York-based fashion designer Brian Reyes, who collaborated with Boyajian on jewellery for four of his runway shows, says it’s “her ability to transform exotic elements” that makes her unique.“I want my jewellery to evoke a sense of whimsy and happiness,” says Boyajian, who has a bohemian look, wearing her hair long and her jeans fashionably high-waisted. “I want my clients to feel like they are in a storybook, like children looking at a mobile above their crib.”The 28-year-old designer lives in a leafy 1929 dollhouse in Los Angeles. Her jewellery hangs from tree branches in the dining room, along with her bridal gown, which she is hand-embellishing with pearls for her wedding this month.Dropping into her world is strange and wonderful, kind of like visiting your grandmother’s house. “Since I was born, my grandma was a crafty Ms. Fix-it,” Boyajian says. “She lived across the street from a flea market, where she would buy broken jewellery and show me how to fix it. That’s all I had to play with when I visited her.”Whereas many designers would jump at the chance to talk about making Johansson’s engagement ring, all Boyajian says is that the actress is one of her best friends. Meanwhile, Ikram Goldman, the Chicago retailer, has asked Boyajian to make a few pins for Michelle Obama.She’s also branching into silk scarves featuring drawings of her jewellery, artfully laid out. With a little help from Johansson and Obama, who knows? Next year maybe we’ll all be wearing statement scarves._Booth Moore, LATWP
