Compressed Spring 2026 Issue - Flipbook - Page 31
“My trajectory is
to keep Faraone
Mennella as a
legacy brand
and a tribute
to his life.”
(Far r.) Amedeo
Party Time in Capri
sardonyx shell cameo
with diamonds and
multicolored gems;
$20,500
Roberto Faraone
Mennella + Amedeo
Scognamiglio
timing: It debuted in the wake of
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
But a chance meeting with the
wardrobe department of the HBO
series Sex and the City improved
their prospects. Molly Rogers, a
costume designer on the show and
later lead costumer on the followup, And Just Like That…, remembers
the moment she first met the young
Italian designers. “We were on a
wardrobe truck. There was a knock
at the door, and these two gorgeous
guys came in to drop off earrings
that were so different from anything
that we were seeing in stores.”
The earrings in question, a pendant style from the Stella collection
made from interlocking links of gold
and turquoise, appeared prominently
on the character Samantha Jones
as she hailed a cab in scene-stealing
style. And just like that, Faraone
Mennella became a smash hit.
“We were launched in one shot,”
Scognamiglio says of the sudden,
pre–social media virality they
experienced. Retailers all over the
United States came calling the day
after the episode aired.
In 2004, they began a five-year
collaboration with Carolina Herrera,
during which the pair created one-off
designs to complement the legendary designer’s runway shows.
In the 20-plus years since, the
number of collections has grown
GEMANDJEWEL.COM
Faraone Mennella
Opal Fever necklace
with black opals and
diamonds, price
upon request; Love
Lemons necklace
with diamonds and
tsavorites, $14,100
many times over, and includes
diamond-studded pendants that look
like lemons and million-dollar high
jewelry creations topped with moody
cabochon stones, most notably in
oceanic blues. But the partners’ initial instincts were sound—the Stella
collection remains a best seller.
As Faraone Mennella ascended,
Scognamiglio took the lead on starting another brand focused on Italian
cameos. “I always had the ambition
to make cameos modern,” he says.
The Amedeo label ties the
meticulous Old World craftsmanship of Torre del Greco artisans
to irreverent imagery, like selfiesnapping skeletons and a set of
pouty lips. Scognamiglio credits
Spike Lee, a loyal client, for much
of the brand’s popularity with men.
The iconic director commissioned
a jumbo custom diamond, opal, and
gold necklace to wear during the
2019 Academy Awards ceremony.
It proved an effective talisman; Lee
took home a statuette.
Their extraordinary partnership,
marked by unbridled creativity and
drive, explained much of Mennella
Amedeo Bulldogs
cameo ring in sterling
silver with black
rhodium and black
diamonds; $2,000
and Scognamiglio’s rise. But the
pair’s charm and smarts didn’t hurt.
They were seemingly cut from the
same cloth of great 20th-century
couturiers—Bill Blass, Halston,
Oscar de la Renta—who organically
socialized with their clients. “My
clients are my friends; they support
me,” Scognamiglio says. Much of his
circle converges each July in Capri,
where an annual party that parades
from the Faraone Mennella boutique on Via Fuorlovado through the
Italian island’s streets has become
a standing social engagement for
guests hailing from Boston to Baku.
That world was interrupted in
2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic
that temporarily shuttered the company’s workshop and stores was not
the partners’ biggest worry. Mennella
was in the midst of a cancer fight, to
which he succumbed late that year.
After Mennella’s death, Scognamiglio considered dissolving their
business, but finally relented. “I
couldn’t have done it if it weren’t for
our team, my jewelers, and my office.
They kept me grounded.” And continuing their work felt like the most
meaningful way to memorialize his
business and life partner. “My trajectory is to keep Faraone Mennella as a
legacy brand and a tribute to his life.”
Today, Faraone Mennella has
shops in New York City and Capri,
and is stocked at Bergdorf Goodman
and independent retailers in Singapore, Saint Barths, and Dubai.
In the ensuing years, Scognamiglio has gained perspective on the
distance he and Mennella traveled.
Despite earning accolades and a
loyal following, “we always felt like
outsiders, a little like impostors. We
never celebrated ourselves,” he says.
“Now, I see the story of two young
guys who came from Italy and
achieved their American dream. It’s
beautiful. It’s really like a movie.”
SPRING 2026
27
