The sexual anthropologist, author, and designer Betony Vernon has spent the best part of three decades boldly reshaping the landscape of sensual pleasure with her luxury fine jewelry line Paradise Found, dedicated solely to the unfettered elevation of human sexuality. The deep dive into desire stems from a deeply ingrained impulse to emancipate taboo.
Until recently, the author of the best-selling guide to pleasure The Boudoir Bible: The Uninhibited Sex Guide for Today (currently translated in nine languages), led her luxurious sexual revolution from a near-legendary underground atelier in the Marais district of Paris, where she would also provide voluptuary therapy sessions for select clientele. "Sometimes, to be extremely creative, you have to actually be alone without the noise," she says, reflecting on the meditative healing space. "I have always been attracted to places that have an underground element because they come with this privilege of total silence – in my place in Paris, if I turn the lights out, I can hear my heartbeat, and that for me is a luxury."
Vernon's assertion that to be away from the noise of modern life is genuine luxury is keenly illustrated by her recent move to the Italian countryside, the country that has always been home to her line's production. "I think we need to change how we lived before; we can't go backward," she says of her pandemic-accelerated relocation. "There is a paradigm shift in society to repopulate the countryside, and I find it exciting. I am now just a short drive from The Eternal City, and I only have to walk into a local church to have a Caravaggio feast," she explains. "My fear in living away from a city was loneliness, but one 'positive' from the pandemic, is how it's required us to reflect on how to get along with ourselves. That relationship you have with yourself – learning to love yourself and truly know your needs – is the most important relationship you can nurture."
Given that much of her hand-made jewelry is devoted to self-pleasure, it's clear that self-realization and sexuality are inextricably linked for Vernon. She firmly believes that the symbiotic relationship between body and mind is still woefully misunderstood. "Your sexuality is the absolute center of your wellness," she explains. "We're living in a traumatized consumer society that doesn't speak freely about sexual pleasure and its importance," she continues, passionately. "When we are disconnected from our sexuality, or think of it as a projected image, then there is great unhappiness – sexual intelligence is critical."
Considering her devotion to the physical, it's interesting to note that Vernon is not someone enamored with the much-feted virtual wonderland of the so-called meta-verse. "There are two dimensions, one is virtual, and the other is nature and reality," she says. "I understand there's an infantile attraction to the meta and avatar world that's happening online, but human beings need a wake-up call – it's potentially extremely destructive for the human soul."
On the contrary, the Virginia-born Vernon is a firm believer that if you want to nourish your spirit, then there is no greater teacher than packing your bags for a new horizon. "Travel is kind of like my God," she says. "It's adventure, it's newness, and it opens our eyes and allows us to see. I don't bounce around when I travel, though. I will always stay somewhere quite a while, so my carbon footprint is less – we have to be much more considerate in the way we move around, in the same way that we have to be more considerate in the way we consume fashion. I would always buy someone like Azzedine Alia or Valentino because I know it will last a lifetime – luxury has a built-in durability."
Durability is certainly key to her own jewelry line, with every pleasure-enhancing ring, necklace, or pendant finished in 18-karat gold or sterling silver. It's testament to her considerable skill and verve that Paradise Found recently celebrated its 30th anniversary with a luxury book revisiting many of her iconic collaborations. "It's principally an image book with photography and illustration," she explains, with infectious enthusiasm. "It documents my work through the creative collaboration with about 40 artists, including Nick Knight, David Downton, Craig McDean, Ellen Von Unwerth, Douglas Kirkland, and Jeff Burton. I see it as a sort of ribbon around this body of work."
Given such an illustrious career, one wonders how her definition of luxury has evolved over time. "I think that my definition of luxury, in many ways, has gone unchanged," she says. "The biggest luxuries for me are having my seamstress close to hand, eating clean food, and enjoying open space – also, I would say quiet; silence is a true luxury."
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