Tag Archives: jewellery
On Parisian ‘lovelocks’ and a clever interactive campaign from the British Heart Foundation
I didn’t know this ’til recently but in Paris there’s a romantic tradition of lovers clamping padlocks scrawled with heartfelt messages on bridge railings to symbolise their love. Andrew Bunney cleverly took this idea to create his sterling silver ‘lovelock’ (available from Dover Street Market), while Louis Vuitton recently did something very similar with its Lockit line of fine jewellery…
BUNNEY
LOUIS VUITTON
Breaking news: MBEs awarded to Tatty Devine
What excellent news for Tatty Devine. The jewellery duo Rosie Wolfenden and Harriet Vine have been awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours for services to fashion. While perspex jewellery might be quite a mainstream thing now, these girls pioneered a certain fun, youthful look that has been copied far and wide since their launch in 1999. Continue reading
Macho jewellery: Saint Laurent Vermeil
I never used to be a jewellery person but this year I’ve really found my jewellery mojo. I tend to like either very simple dainty pieces, like a Dinh Van Menottes chain, or big slabs of chunky heavy metal. Continue reading
Fashion and tech: Frends jewellery headphones
It’s only just dawned on me that headphones have become a fashion thing. Recently I’ve been bombarded with press releases about ‘designer’ headphones, why I don’t know as I have zero interest in them. I guess it taps into the wearable technology trend so maybe I should pay more attention. Continue reading
On K-Stew and her Cartier Juste Un Clou
You may have seen the pictures of Kristen Stewart looking very grown up in Victoria Beckham’s tangerine dress and Louboutin Decollettes. But did you spot the bracelet? Of late, Stewart has switched up her grungy Converse-with-everything image for something way more pap-worthy, right down to the smallest detail. In this case, she’s become surgically attached to Cartier’s iconic Juste Un Clou (‘just a nail’) bracelet, the gold ‘bent nail’ that was reissued earlier this year from the depths of the Cartier vaults. Continue reading
Buy it now: Polished Punk
Rich reds and warm neutrals are on my radar this month (even though I’ve spent the last few weeks looking at ss13 colours – white, orange and Yves Klein blue are trending so far). I love the combination of Carven’s cheery red skirt and Kenzo’s vibrant printed scarf with Antipodium’s plastic-sleeved bomber. And also the contrast of Junya Watanabe’s abbreviated biker (only £272!) with McQueen’s chi-chi Heroine bag. Shaune Leane’s thorn ring adds unexpected drama.
ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT:
TOP: Creatures of the Wind sweater, £395; Charlotte Olympia heels, £506,16; Antipodium jacket, £190
MIDDLE: Kenzo scarf, £95; Kate Moss book, £50; Alexander McQueen bag, £1,345
BOTTOM: Junya Watanabe jacket, £272; Carven skirt, £305; Shaun Leane ring, £140
On trunk shows, experiential retail and Hannah Warner’s extreme nail art
The Independent published a story this week about the growth of online trunk shows – Moda Operandi, Net-a-Porter et al giving customers the chance to shop ahead of the season by pre-ordering almost straight from the runway. The analogue version of this is the physical trunk show, more popular in America, but also being used in the UK by smaller retailers and designers to offer their customers a more intimate experience and learn from the feedback. I wrote about this a while ago for Glass magazine and noticed that trunk shows seem to be particularly popular with jewellers. Especially with more expensive pieces, it seems the live shopping experience can add to the emotional value of the piece. This month, contemporary multi-brand jeweller Kabiri is holding weekly trunk shows with a different designer every Thursday where customers can meet the makers and also try out special pieces from their collections.
Owner Nathalie Kabiri says, “although we have a successful online store, you can’t replicate the interaction of meeting the brands personally. We pride ourselves on our close working relationships with designers and decided to hold the series of trunk shows so that our designers can give advice to customers, to help them achieve the perfect jewellery purchase.” One of those designers is Hannah Warner whose darkly gothic aesthetic has earned her commissions from Mugler and Jean-Paul Gauliter. Tomorrow at Kabiri in Marylebone Road, Warner will be launching her gold nail jewellery; thorn-like nail attachments that are applied by a manicurist. These have been much buzzed about since being seen on the Mugler AW12 runway. The following Thursday, British jewellers, Cabinet will hold a trunk show at Kabiri in King’s Road. Although the trunk shows are open to the public, you have to book a place. Find all the details are here.
Diarise! Schiaparelli jewellery sale on 1stDibs
Schiaparelli fever is about to kick in big time as The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute unveils its ‘Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations‘ exhibition next month. Continue reading
Who is Barbara Hutton and what is that fantastic rock she’s wearing?
This handsome Cecil Beaton photo is on show at Selfridges’ Wonder Room as part of the Cartier Loves Diamonds exhibition. I wasn’t aware of La Hutton but she was a well known American socialite and this Pasha Of Egypt diamond was the biggest circular cut diamond in the world. Alas, Babs didn’t like the octagonal shape of the diamond so Cartier recut it and set it in this humdinger of a ring. If you’re down Selfridges way between now and 29th April, do swing by the Wonder Room where you can see more photos of iconic Cartier designs as well as some fine examples of Cartier’s historic jewels. Plus the jewels are all for sale should the urge to buy strike you…
Trend report: Liberty AW12 press day highlights
Liberty‘s press day is one of the highlights of the whole 2-month-long press day circuit. There’s always something new going on with the store (this year it’s the extension of the accessories hall into a space that will reach back to Kingly Street opening on May 1st) and the buyers are on hand to chat through their choices. Womenswear buyer Stephanie Jones, who I first met doing the Liberty Best Of British Open Call last year, gave me a wee tour… Continue reading
