EMERGING DESIGNER

Jacquis Rambeau

IN THIS FEATURE: Meet Jacquis Fashion Focus

roken Celebrity I-Wear summons upon the boldness and confidence of a Bentley with Salvation Army shopping bags in the back seat; looking the least while doing the most. The line of fabulous eyewear was born once designer Jacquis Rambeau noticed how the accessory craze was taking off.

Jacquis Rambeau was born and raised in Marysville, California and has moved around ever since being the son of a military father. He first became interested in design in 2001 after having spent most of his childhood dreaming about being in the music industry.

Jacquis has been designing clothes for nine years. He began mainly by designing unique pieces by embellishing cut-up jeans by adding rhinestones and other materials. Jacquis got the idea of embellishing eyewear because he saw a pair on television. He decided to purchase a pair and once he had them in hand, he realized he could make them himself. Having never gone to design school, Jacquis is self-taught. The first pair he made had studs across the front and was covered in lace. This first pair of unique sunglasses was sold to someone in California via his Web site.

When asked how he came up with the name, Jacquis explained, “The name was supposed to be Broke Celebrity-based on the idea that sometimes people who are broke want to look like celebrities, but don’t have the celebrity cash.” One day someone was looking through his photos and suggested that he use the name “Broken Celebrity” instead. After giving it some serious thought, he decided that the latter was going to be the new name of his eyewear line.

The embellishments on the eyewear include items such as pointy studs, lace, crystals, rhinestones, chains and a mixture of other materials that add that certain flair to sunglasses. Stepping outside of the box, some of the more outlandish designs feature Legos and butterflies. He has even created some with shredded jeans or other denim fabric. The first fashion show to showcase the Broken Celebrity line was hosted by Florida Designers Expo. The fabulous eyewear is now sold in a few locations; such as Let’s Get Laced located in Miami, Florida and on etsy.com, Ustrendy.com and directly through his own Web site, Broken.Celebrity.com. Mya, the internationally acclaimed recording artist, has even performed in a pair of broken celebrity I-wear. Jacquis is now working on a new collection which will feature more one-of-a-kind designs.