DYNAMIC

DUO

D'Alto-Soberman jewelry by
Detroit designers Mari D'Alto
and Linda Soberman is receiving
national acclaim.

BY MAIDA PORTNOY

30 IN STYLE

n the fall of 1987 designers
Mari D'Alto and Linda
Soberman brought their
brand new jewelry collec-
tion to Ellen Firestone,
owner-buyer of Twigs in
Birmingham. Firestone was
someone whose artistic
judgment the two women respected.
What they wanted from her was
business advice and direction. What
they got was their first account and
a holiday season trunk show of their
gold leaf and metal mesh fabricated
objets d'art at her exclusive shop two
months later.
Then, talk about networking,
Firestone made phone calls (to
different showrooms) for them,
recalls a grateful D'Alto, and then
printed an impressive announce-
ment of the upcoming event at Twigs
by showcasing their unique
creations. Not long after, at one of
their two trunk shows at Saks Fifth
Avenue in Chicago, designer Becky
Bisoulis saw the announcement and
suggested one be sent to another
designer, Mary McFadden.
Simply stated, that did it.
McFadden contacted D'Alto and
D'Alto-Soberman accessories have
appeared at Parson's School of
Design in New York in two
McFadden fashion shows since, with
a third just around the corner, "Mary
McFadden's Spring and Summer '89
Collection."
They have recently accessorized
"the New Generation of Oldsmo-
bile" ads, have designed for Esprit
fashions and can hardly keep up
with the print publicity their
fledgling business is receiving. Lately,
their jewelry — earrings, bracelets
and pins — has been displayed in
Vogue, the American and Italian

Harper's Bazaar, Newsweek, Savvy,
Cosmpolitan, Rolling Stone, Detroit
Monthly, Michigan Woman and the

Mari D'Alto (right) and Linda
Soberman (left) are wearing their own
designs. Mari models a three-strand
pearl choker with matching earrings,
while Linda wears the signature
earrings with drop beads and a
matching gold leaf pin.