MTV Awards A Hoop Dream For Jewelry

Published on 15/09/09

It seems as if nearly all the stars at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards received the same memo: Wear extra-large hoop earrings, an armful of bracelets or a sparkly or metallic dress--or all three at once.

Beyonce, who took home three Moonman awards including Video of the Year for her song Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It), wore a short red dress and more than a million dollars worth of diamond jewelry by Lorraine Schwartz, including a gigantic pair of hoop earrings and three bracelets.

The one-of-a-kind, $450,000 hoop earrings were crafted of diamond and rock crystal, and the trio of bangles, valued at $600,000, were made of lavender, green and black carved jade with diamonds and rubies.

For her performance, Beyonce wore Lorraine Schwartz again, this time choosing tiered earrings with green and gray iridescent diamonds and a customized "Single Ladies" titanium hand-piece.

Among those seconding the hoops trend was Alicia Keys, who paired a sequined black cocktail dress with a large pair of hoop earrings (designer wasn't specified), as well as several pieces by Lorraine Schwartz, including a large stack of platinum bangles featuring black and white diamonds, black jade and diamonds, and the signature "Against Evil Eye" diamond bracelet, plus a black jade and emerald cocktail ring set in platinum.

The trend proved versatile, with spike-haired Pink joining the hoop-la, too, wearing Siera diamond triangle earrings and a matching cocktail ring with a studded black-leather minidress. Pink also wore a white gold and pave diamond chain-link ring by R.S. Durant and an Irit Design oxidized sterling silver and rose-cut diamond multi-chain bracelet.

The hoops craze headed for The Hills too, with star Kristin Cavallari accenting a sequined silver tube dress with gunmetal and diamond hoop earrings by Sutra and a large cuff bracelet.

Country music's teen queen Taylor Swift, who won for Best Female Video, wore a silver gown accessorized with oxidized gold and diamond mesh earrings and an oxidized gold cuff featuring 40 carats of diamonds, all by Lorraine Schwartz. (In one of the show's headline-making moments, Swift's acceptance speech was cut off by rap star Kanye West who was booed after he grabbed the microphone from Swift and made remarks about Beyonce, also nominated in the category, having one of the "best videos of all time.")