For some, Halloween is all candy and costumes. Others observe its origins in their celebration: All Hallows’ Eve, a time when certain religions honored those who had died.
Jewelry designer Larissa Loden sought to revisit that history and pay homage to Victorian mourning jewelry through her new collaboration with singer and guitarist Rachel Goswell. They created a limited-edition collection that honors grief, mourning, and communicating to others about the people you loved and lost.
The four pieces in Goswell and Loden’s collection include the Rachel necklace, a delicate gold locket engraved with the words “I carry you in my heart,” and the Goswell necklace, which comes with an eye-catching round black enamel locket with a pearl center.
They also designed two sets of earrings for their collab. The Alison earrings are more minimalist, Loden says, and their airy rose-shaped forms serve as symbols of love, courage, and beauty. Slowdive earrings, named after Goswell’s band, feature gold-plated brass skulls—they are a memento mori, or reminder of mortality, and also represent cycles and change, Loden says.
Goswell, whose mother recently died, wanted to make something that brought back the Victorian mourning jewelry tradition, Loden says. “Losing a parent involves so much grieving, and there a lot of stages to that process,” the Minnesota-based designer says. “Rachel is a huge jewelry lover, and she knew that Victorians processed some of their grief through the jewelry they wore. When I reached out to her to do a collab, she suggested we create something that was a more modern take on mourning jewelry, and I thought that was perfect.”
Loden and Goswell wanted their jewelry to both be aesthetically pleasing and have a deeper meaning for those who wear it, as a memory of people they’ve loved and times they shared. The women agreed that people generally have become disconnected from the grieving process: Self-care and wellness practices tend not to focus on helping people process the loss of a loved one over time, but rather rush them through the so-called stages of grief.
“We hope that collections like these make mourning and grief more normalized,” Loden says. “The beautiful idea behind mourning jewelry is that you will carry the memory of these people with you as you go through life. Jewelry is the same—you can open up and communicate their stories through the pieces you wear.”
Loden says people who purchase this collaboration also will have access to a special playlist that she and Goswell put together, allowing the wearer to connect to Goswell’s story as part of wearing their new piece of jewelry.
Top: Slowdive musician Rachel Goswell has designed a jewelry collection with Larissa Loden inspired by Victorian mourning jewelry. (Photos courtesy of Larissa Loden)
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