NYC Costume Jewelry Designer to Make Coronation Jewels for Mardi Gras Royalty
By: Tyler Peterson Jul. 21, 2014
Chris Crouch, the jewelry designer behind the label Moans Couture, has hand crafted the custom designed crowns, scepters, and sets of jewels for the stage productions of Broadway's Wicked and Aladdin, HBO's Boardwalk Empire, Victoria's Secret Fashion Shows, Fashion Designer Zac Posen, and Katy Perry. Expanding his presence as a designer, he will be hosting trunk shows this September in Baton Rouge and New Orleans for Mardi Gras enthusiasts.
"Making jewels for Broadway and the fashion world is always exhilarating. Another area of costume design I've always loved is the fantastic world of Mardi Gras. The glamour of Carnival inspires me throughout the year. " said Chris Crouch in his NYC workshop.
Chris began working eight years ago as a senior assistant with Lawrence Vrba, an TDF/Irene Sharaff Award Winning costume jewelry designer in NYC. Vrba's vast theatre credits include Follies (1971) and A Little Night Music (1973) with Florence Klotz; Barnum (1980), Ballroom (1978), La Cage aux Folles (1983), Dreamgirls (1981); Flower Drum Song (2002) and many more. For Chris Crouch, apprenticing under someone that has that sort of pedigree, makes Moans Couture pieces in demand by dealers and collectors. Aaron Kinchen, the hair supervisor at Mamma Mia! at the Broadhurst Theater, is coordinating sales for Moans Couture. As a native of South Louisiana, he took one look at the jewelry and immediately thought of Mardi Gras. Aaron made inquiries and received a lot of positive feedback from contacts down south. "After people saw the photos on www.moanscouture.com, they made it clear to me that the Mardi Gras Ball scene down south is craving something new and different," Aaron says. While the interest has always been there, the recent resurgence is bolstered by the exploding TV/Film industry in the region. Last year, Louisiana outpaced NYC and LA in gross dollars spent on productions.
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