Q&A: Issa Rae on Her New Jewelry Collection With Cast

Actress, writer, and producer Issa Rae is a powerhouse, lending her talents to TV and the silver screen, including as President Barbie in last summer’s instant hit.

Now, the star and co-creator of HBO’s “Insecure” has partnered with San Francisco-based fine jewelry brand Cast to bring her creative vision to a new medium.

The 22-piece “Braeve” collection is a modern take on minimalism, showcasing bold and versatile designs in 14-karat yellow gold and sterling silver, set with onyx and lab-grown diamonds.

It includes rings, hoops, studs, huggies, cuffs, and a fun flip pendant.

“Collaborating with Issa Rae for this collection was a dream come true,” said Cast co-founder and Chief Creative Officer Rachel Skelly.

“Whether she’s in front of or behind the camera, she brings such an incredible authenticity, creativity, and purpose to everything she does. We knew this collaboration would be no exception, especially with her unique style and creative vision.”

With a price range of $250 to $5,900, Braeve will be sold at Cast boutiques, CastJewelry.com, and at select Nordstrom stores and on Nordstrom.com.

I sat down with the star last week on a rooftop in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood to discuss her inspiration for the line, her personal style, and what her character in the “Barbie” movie, President Barbie, would wear.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Lenore Fedow: Tell me about your inspiration for the Braeve collection.

Issa Rae: My inspiration really came down to wanting pieces that I could wear forever. When I buy and invest in jewelry, I want to shower in it. I want to sleep in it.

And I want them to represent me in so many ways. Part of that journey, in coming up and coming up from a scrappy creative background and then coming into Hollywood, there’s a certain way to show up that I didn’t feel worthy of. And jewelry was my gateway into that.

A lot of that jewelry was honestly gifted or styling. It felt phony to me. It wasn’t my home. It felt like I wasn’t showing up as myself.

And so, in investing in jewelry, that was kind of my way of showing up. Even if I was in a T-shirt and jeans, it was like these hoops that I’m wearing are an investment. You’ll see that I’m trying and this is my way of showing a status.

I've been inspired by [the Cast team’s] story in particular and how they approach jewelry, especially for women at a certain time period of their lives where they’re ready to level up and take care of themselves and invest in themselves. I love that demographic and that is also my demographic.

That’s the audience that I speak to in all of my work. So that collaboration, coupled with my inspiration, was just a perfect marriage.

LF: I can definitely see that. Jewelry is absolutely a hallmark of success for some people and a really fun way to celebrate a milestone. When you were helping to create this collection, who did you have in mind was going to be wearing it?

IR: Aside from myself, hopefully, family members. I have a lot of nieces and nephews now. And I thought about my nieces. Like, would they think this is cool? Would they wear it? Could I pass this down to them? Would they ask this of me?

And then, of course, friends. Anytime I’m at a creative base level, the first thing I think about is, will my friends like this? Will they laugh at this? That’s my focus group.

I just wanted to make sure that I get that compliment from them, if I showed up, like, “Oh, girl. I like the necklace.” Or, “Oh my God, where’d you get that bracelet?” That’s the milestone.

They have not seen these yet, so they don’t know about this collaboration yet. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go to L.A. and just wear them and patiently wait for them to compliment me.

LF: Do you have a favorite piece within the collection?

IR: Without a doubt, it’s the flip pendant, specifically because Cast had the flip ring. I love the flip ring. And I love a statement necklace.

I feel like that’s the gateway to me, this piece on your chest that is just outward facing. And there’s something about the flip ring that felt almost like a mood ring in some ways. And I wanted that for the necklace.

[Cast] was like, “We don’t know if we can do that.” And they literally made it happen. I felt like that was the epitome of the collaboration and the merging of these two worlds.

I’m trying to decode the translations, like if it’s on all black, don’t mess with me. I’m not in the mood today.

If it’s on all gold, then I’m approachable. And I hope that other people create their own codes.

LF: That’s fun. I like that. Can you tell me a bit about your personal jewelry style? You said you like statement necklaces?

IR: I do. I like simple pieces that are symmetrical, that are elegant, refined, and timeless. Everyone says timeless, but there is something about, like, you don’t want to feel like your jewelry is dated.

When I do wear jewelry, I like it to stand out. Again, I’m a jeans and T-shirt girl, so that is my way of dressing up in so many ways, and that’s my way of armoring for the day.

Then when I’m going out at night, if I have an event or something like that, then, of course, it’s going to be the perfect accessory to accentuate what I’m wearing.

SEE: Jewels from Issa Rae’s “Braeve” collection

LF: You spoke a bit about your nieces and nephews and passing down jewelry. How do you feel about having something you helped create be passed down in that way? That’s pretty special.

IR: I feel as cool as they’ll make me feel, honestly, because they don’t care. They don’t care who you are or what you’ve done, and I think my craving is like, are they going to like this as is?

Ultimately, to be morbid, in my passing, maybe it’ll mean something to them. But in the moment, if it means something to them now, I think that’s cool and that’s all I care about. 

Because I don’t have kids yet, they are my offspring in a way, and they’re whose approval I look for. And it’s just really sweet to think that if they go to prom or whatever, that something I made could be [worn] and they’ll know that I thought of them.

LF: I have one last question for you, kind of a fun one. If you were dressing up one of your notable characters, like, let’s say, President Barbie, what jewelry here is she wearing?

IR: What I loved about the Barbie world and specifically Greta [Gerwig]’s vision is it was extremely childlike. She was tapping into how little girls who play with Barbies or little boys who play with Barbies think and it’s in excess. 

So, it was like, what would President Barbie wear to address the Barbie nation or Barbieland? 

And I’d be like, “I don’t know. In Barbieland, I’d wear a gown and a tiara.” And [Gerwig] was like “Yes, done.”

And I was like, “And a sash too, just to show that she’s president?” And she was like, yes. 

It’s in excess. In short, President Barbie would wear every single piece at the same time because she can.