Vertigo’s Jewelry Is A Personal Wellness Statement For Cool Girls

To look at Taylor Sade, one wouldn’t think that the founder of uber-chic accessories brand Vertigo ever had a fashion crisis. But when she moved to New York City to attend Parsons for undergrad, she found herself floundering.

“It was a huge adjustment,” the creative director and designer, now 27, says. “I’d never been to a nightclub, I didn’t know how to dress for school, I didn’t think I was cool. Everyone else seemed so sure of themselves, and I felt like I had no style or taste. It was a really big learning curve.”

Ironically, Vertigo, which Sade launched in 2021 in a bid to reclaim a creative outlet, was christened the hot girl necklace du jour in a 2023 profile by the New York Times. The print feature didn’t just make Sade feel cool, it changed her life overnight. The day after the feature ran, she quit her job at a design agency to focus full-time on building out her line of one-of-a-kind pieces.

While Sade, initially flirted with the idea of being a fashion designer, she ended up pursuing communication design, concentrating in book cover design. Graduating into a pandemic-stricken industry meant that she couldn’t afford to be picky about the type of job she took on. An opportunity to be an assistant at an apparel production manufacturing firm came up — and while it ended up being “a job from hell,” it would prove formative for striking out on her own a few years later.

“It was the worst job,” Sade recalls. “A nightmare. But I would not have my company without it. I learned more than I could have ever imagined and I owe so much to that experience.” Totally winging it, she taught herself the verbiage and learned the ropes: “I was able to learn about how you negotiate with overseas suppliers, how to speak to vendors, what it means to ask for tiered costing, how to compare costing, how you manage logistics.”

Outside of that 9-5 grind, Sade needed to nurture her love for design. While in Arizona visiting her mom over the holidays in 2020, they happened to drive past a lapidary — a gem stone shop — that was running a 50% off closing down sale. Intrigued by the unusual 20mm stones, Sade decided to put down a $1,000 investment and buy out the rest of the stock. “I had no idea at the time that these stones were actually really rare to find. I just thought at the very least, I’ll make some gifts for friends.”

Despite never having strung a bead before, she set to work. “I’m incredibly savvy — that’s my best quality,” she laughs. “If I want something, I’ll just make it. And that’s basically how Vertigo started.” The more she wore the necklaces that she stayed up late making in her bedroom, the more compliments she garnered.

Unlike many people her age, Sade admits she’s firmly “not a social media person,” but thanks to her studies at Parsons, she was well-versed in how to code a website, create a brand identity, and design the right logo, icon, and text. For a time, she figured that Vertigo could just be a nice portfolio piece that she could show future employers — now that she was finally feeling confident in her style and taste. That said, her peers’ interests were piqued and everyone wanted to know how they could get their hands on her goods: chunky bracelets with gobstopper-like amethyst and angelite stones; amulets with turquoise, onyx, and jasper; low-slung hip belts made from rose quartz and fossilized coral; and donut-style malachite, cat’s eye, baby tiger, and lapis lazuli medallions on leather cord.

Sade caved and set up an Instagram page for the endeavor. “I started posting and it really took off from there,” she recalls. “I remember the first day I got a sale from someone I didn’t know. I almost died! They ordered a belt, when I didn’t even have proper photos of them, but they trusted me. That was the coolest.”

Said made-to-order belts have since graced the pages of Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, while Vertigo’s pendants have been featured in Victoria’s Secret campaigns. Suki Waterhouse wears the brand, as does Paloma Elsesser on vacation, and Emily Ratajkowski while she’s walking her dog. “To my dismay, it’s all down to social media,” Sade jokes of the rolling stone effect of building brand awareness online.

While industry recognition feels great, Sade notes that there’s nothing that feels more pinch-me than seeing one of her creations authentically in the real world. Just recently, she spotted a choker on a well-dressed girl her own age while at the lower Manhattan lounge Paul’s Casablanca. “I think the Vertigo girl is eclectic,” she offers. “She definitely has to be confident — because you’re probably going to get questions. I have girls tell me, ‘Oh, I wore the belt on a date and the guy loved it.’ It’s not a good feeling to be wearing something that you’re insecure about and then someone asks you about it.”

With its roots in the spiritual Southwest — where Sade still sources most of her stones — one would think that Vertigo would play into the purported healing and otherworldly properties of its materials. Sade, however, doesn’t want it to feel forced. “To me, spirituality is such a private and personal experience,” she says. “Unfortunately that’s something that gets muddled in fashion. People love things for a different reason. I have an amazing customer who’s shopped the brand six or seven times who had a really tragic thing happen. She had sent me an email saying she was gifting herself an amethyst piece to help get through it. I like that she opened the door to say that to me, instead of me pushing that on her.”

Instead, the focus is on letting people find their own power and meaning in the pieces, perhaps reclaiming the idea of a personal wellness statement — which feels very Gen Z-appropriate, after so many years of women being force-fed self-care and self-optimization ideals. Those who wear Vertigo will also know that Sade spent up to two hours mindfully creating their new favorite confidence-boosting and conversation-starting piece by hand, too.

Manifesting for the year ahead, Sade says that yes, “sales are nice” and it’s “great to be seen on influencers,” but her dream is for Vertigo to land at a major retailer — and find itself in print again. “My nana doesn’t care if someone wore it on TikTok, but she really cares if she can go pick up a magazine and see it in there,” says Sade. “I’m the first person in my immediate family to go to college — it’s beyond my mom and grandma’s wildest dreams that they would see my work in The New York Times and in other magazines. Those are the things that feel so cool and fulfilling.”