4 Questions for St. Kilda Designer Nora Kogan

What is the philosophy behind your line?
I just want to make jewelry that’s cool and interesting and that isn’t going to date. St. Kilda is sophisticated, subtle, and it’s meant to enhance the beauty and style of the woman wearing it. It’s not about wearing a big piece of jewelry to show off. It’s not about flashiness. It’s about seeing someone and thinking, “She looks cool.”

What inspires your designs?
Everything and anything. Ultimately, my imagination inspires my designs but it can start anywhere. Sometimes it’s seeing a stylish girl and imagining what kind of jewelry she would wear. Sometimes it’s just a feeling that I want to express. Sometimes the gemstones I choose dictate what I’m going to make. I take design cues from the shapes and colors of the stones.
Travel is an easy answer, but I was lucky enough to be exposed to beauty and art and culture at a young age. I got to travel to Moscow often and once to St. Petersburg with my mum just to visit the Hermitage! When my parents and I emigrated from Russia we spent two weeks in Vienna. Then we moved to Italy for a year and then to Australia. Growing up in St. Kilda in Melbourne was a true inspiration—a beautiful hodgepodge of design and style that shouldn’t work but does.

What is your best accessorizing advice?
Take it easy. The worst offense is looking like you’re trying too hard. I always like to look a bit disheveled, and always, the bigger the diamond, the lower the heel. That said, I feel naked without jewelry!

Do you follow Coco Chanel’s rule: “take one piece off before you leave the house”?
Always! Less is more, that’s my rule.