You might not know her name, but you certainly know her jewelry. Eighties It-Girl Maripol was the designer behind the iconic black rubber bracelets featured on Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” album. The bracelets caused a global sensation which had Madonna-wannabe’s clamoring for an armful of the gummy arm candy and copy-cat versions everywhere.

Maripol’s styling and jewelry designs made Madonna the cultural icon she is considered today. Her original black rubber bangles, cross jewelry, fashionable punk inspired tops were all the doing of Maripol. ‘‘Meeting Madonna was a blessing,’’ Maripol says, ‘‘but then everybody copied me.’’

The French-born stylist, jewelry designer, photographer and 80s It-Girl extraordinaire was behind much of the style, art and fashions of the 80s. The former stylist and image consultant for Debbie Harry and Grace Jones, Maripol’s innovative junk jewelry designs and unique aesthetic began drawing high-profile attention.

Fiorucci fashion house was the first to notice and hired her to design their first jewelry line before appointing her art director. She developed her first rubber jewelry collection in 1978, which was the debut accessory & jewelry line for Fiorucci. “I never found anything I liked in styling photography so I decided to make them. And also I was a young girl and I was attracted by objects and I liked to use them by taking away their original meaning. I would see something I liked and I’d say: ‘that would be great as an earring.’”

Working with the likes of art stars Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf, Maripol’s influence was about to remake the world in the form of one woman: Madonna.

Madonna, who rocked Maripol’s trademark rubber bracelets and crucifix earrings, redefined 80s style. Maripol met Madonna after a friend brought the Material Girl to her loft and hired her as a stylist to work on the look of the album cover. The iconic “Like a Virgin” wedding dress was designed and sewn by Maripol herself, the veil was designed by a friend, Katsuko, but the jewelry was all Maripol. The “Boy Toy” wasn’t designed by Maripol because “everybody had those, but I did the one for the cover of the Like A Virgin album.”

With a 80s resurgence underway, Maripol is enjoying a well-deserved comeback. “That was the last era when there was a sense of freedom and do-it-yourself spirit,” Maripol said. “Style wasn’t laid out. You didn’t need to be a millionaire to start something, and you didn’t need to have P.R. to talk to somebody — there was no need to hide behind walls of communication.”

She is currently working on a line of fluorescent Lucite bracelets, necklaces inspired by sea urchins and, possibly, T-shirt dresses with updated versions of her favorite geometric motifs, to be sold at Marc by Marc Jacobs boutiques early next year. Says Jacobs: ‘‘I love the naïve, simple vibe and eccentricity of Maripol’s designs.’’

Maripol was an integral part of New York’s 80s downtown scene, partying at the legendary Studio 54 and Mudd Club with the likes of Andy Warhol, Fab Five Freddy and Keith Haring. She produced several films including Downtown 81 – a film originally shot in the 80s, directed by Edo Bertoglio and written by Glenn O’Brien, which starred her close friend, the late artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. Maripol closely documented the 80s with her series of Polaroids, which feature many of the leading artists and musicians of the era.

Maripol opened her own show, Maripolitan, to showcase her unique designs but bankrupted in 1987 when the copycats caught up with her. She said, “How can you survive when millions of people start making their most horrible supposedly rubber jewelry which was actually made out of plastic? Mine was made of genuine rubber. “

http://www.maripolitan.com