Isabelle was born in Paris on the “Night of Kings” in 1945, daughter to Genevieve Corre, and Blas Canovas, a Spanish fabric designer. The product of designers, she began work at an early age as accessories designer at Hermes, and later to Louis Vuitton. She received acclaim from Patrick Vuitton who felt she could help in modernizing the image of Vuitton in the 70‘s. After only one year, she left the company to join Christian Dior as head designer for a span of almost 10 years. At the age of 37, she opened her own boutique with husband Michael de Cornelius in the very high end and fashionable AV. Montaigne of Paris. Her luxurious take on accessories was widely popular, and she soon opened shop in 1985 on Madison Avenue, NY, and in 1988 on 27 Hermosilla, Madrid, Spain.

Her customers knew that she never discounted or loaned pieces to anyone, no matter what the celebrity value was. This marketing strategy helped her customers know that the accessories would NEVER devalue with time. Her editions for each season were in small amounts, and often collections were theme based (circus, African, garden, etc). She achieved much acclaim including the “T Award” from Telva Magazine for best international designer, and multiple Dafnis gold metal awards. Unfortunately, her design career ended with the announcement of her store closing on December 2, 1992.

Isabelle’s pieces rarely hit the secondary market, so I hope you will enjoy the following selection.

This stunning bracelet will surely make a statement with it's amazing oversized look. It is 1 1/2" wide and about 3/4" thick. It is made from fossilized horn coral with an inner brass band. It has seven carved turtle cabochons in jade, lapis lazuli, and tiger eye. Each measures 22 x 30MM, and all are set in brass bezels. The bracelet is in excellent condition and is only signed "Made in France" on an applied sticker. It was purchased at her Paris attelier in the early 1980's.