Chunky vs dainty

Less extravagant, more elegant: from bold outfits to a nouvelle vague of so called ‘simplified luxury’. This new fashion direction influences the design of 2016 jewelry collections.

Over the course of the last fashion season we have seen the jewelry at the shows getting bigger and bigger. Now we have reached the maximum look for statement necklaces with pendants covering your whole chest, earrings expanding far beyond the size of the earlobe and cuff bracelets covering the whole wrist because it looks like the spring/summer 2016 season is taking a turn for the smaller.

It seems that the main reason jewelry looks set to get a little more dainty is that the clothes we are seeing in the in the spring-summer shows are becoming less intricate. Instead of prints we are seeing monochrome fabrics in a variety of different textures and shades, with a clear-cut silhouette increasingly favoured over multiple layers. All of which suggests a shift in the direction of more minimalist, finessed styles in both fashion and jewelry.

Bold outfits made to stand out in a crowd have fallen by the wayside and in their place we are seeing the rise of more restrained looks such as the so-called ‘simplified luxury’, and this new fashion direction is influencing the earrings, necklaces and bracelets designers are picking for their models on the catwalks of the 2016 shows. Jewelry styles and looks are becoming less extravagant  – Salvatore Ferragamo and Sacai’s models have been stepping out at the fashion shows in long chain earrings with a single pearl, Versace and Rag & Bone girls have opted for understated metal hoop earrings, while Giambattista Valli and Ferragamo again have gone for long, understated pendant chains. Looking at the change in taste, the phrase, “All great things are simple”, comes to mind.

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Bulgari ‘Giardini Italiani’. Earrings with sapphire, emerald and diamond

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Les Talismans de Chanel 'Magnétique' cuff in 18K yellow gold set with diamonds and cabochon-cut crystals

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Chaumet ‘Joséphine’
Bracelet in white gold and diamonds set with a centrally set sapphire

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If you look at the catwalk offerings for spring/summer 2016, it is clear that complex patterns that made up jewelry designs in the autumn/winter collections, such as Hermes’s large gold and diamond necklace and Dolce & Gabbana’s baroque-style earrings, are pretty much absent from the summer models. We are no longer seeing things like the stylish choker necklace with Byzantine decorations which adorned the neckline of Cara Delevingne at Chanel’s autumn show; instead, what is popping up on the podium is body jewelry which is not less showy.

Buccelati ‘Opera’ Necklace in white gold with charms in yellow and white gold

At the New York show, Alexander McQueen and Calvin Klein’s slender-waisted models were draped in fine webs of chains, evidence of a new wave of popularity for multi-layered jewelry – thin stackable rings combining to form a bold look, lengthy sautoirs which can be worn with two or three layers simultaneously. Together they have created a trend for volume which has seamlessly transitioned from the winter to the summer season.

Louis Vuitton 'Acte V / The Escape' ‘Long Island ‘necklace with a Burmese sapphire, Tahitian pearls, onyx and diamonds

Previously, to achieve a statement look, designers had no choice but to make their jewelry more hefty, such as the flat bird necklace from Giambattista Valli which covered the whole chest or the Lanvin’s really wide art-deco cuff bracelet. Now they do it by adding layers – examples of this include a broad gold choker from the J. W. Anderson summer show made up of three wavy elements combining to make one whole and Chanel’s four strings of pearls one above the other linked into a single necklace covering the entire neck.

According to Paola de Luca, creative director and forecaster for TRENDVISION Jewellery +Forecasting, “Globalisation and the fear of losing our heritage has brought back an attachment to our roots and traditions; the complexity of modern life creates the need for simplicity. For the minimalist consumer, fluid lines, airy designs, and lightweight pieces with touches of diamonds and semi-precious stones meet layered designs, including abstract patterns cut out with alternative materials or metal.”

Boucheron ‘Bleu De Jodhpur’ Reversible 'Jodhpur' necklace

 

There is no reason to see this rise of a simpler style as the return of an unadventurous classic; today’s designers are finding new ways to make even the more simple jewelry attractive and original. Carrera Y Carrera, for example, play with contrasts between matt and polished gold, while Antonini combine different metal shades in the same piece and Buccellati give unusual textures to their gold, something which sets the brand apart from its competitors.

 

Whatever the ebbs and flows of fashion, it’s worth keeping in mind that the point of jewelry is to emphasise your own individual style, which need not necessarily be what the fashion gurus tell you is in for the upcoming spring/summer season.

 

 

 

by Katerina Perez