Spring and Summer jewellery trends
By Gretel Hunnerup
Come along on a journey of discovery, unlocking five bright jewellery
looks for cool kids this spring/summer season. GRETEL HUNNERUP leads
the way.
August is the month for farewelling sodden streets and bleak skies, for welcoming blossoms and for preparing to swap woollens for cottons. For jewellery retailers, it’s also the month for tough decision-making. Many will clear their counters of wintry clutter, scouring the trade fairs for fresh and exciting stock. They’ll ask themselves: “What will customers come to fancy when the mercury rises?”Sharon Graubard from New York trend forecasting firm ESP Trendlab in New York reveals a helpful hint.
“Consumers are more aware of the runway than ever before, thanks to websites like Style.com,” she says, “and glossy fashion magazines still offer inspiration and aspiration.”
Therefore, with a brief eye to fashion forward media and jewellery wholesalers, it’s clear that the look for the coming season is playful and penny-saving, with a personal touch.
Here are the top-five trends that will win more wardrobing points this spring/summer.
Up-sizing
Early this year, at various Northern Hemisphere spring runway shows, Paris-based fashion designer Martin Grant sent his models down the catwalk wearing necklaces of gargantuan proportions. The thick and messy gold strands were wrapped around necks and left to dangle, kelp-like, down to waists and knees. Chanel followed suit with neckpieces that demanded dominace of the décolletage – solid chokers anchoring an assemblage of tortoiseshell triangles, circles and squares.
This season, again, the memo for jewellery says that big is in.
Pilgrim has received that memo, and has responded with the silver-plated Go Diva set, comprising a massive cuff bracelet fitted with giant cerulean blue and black glass and enamel stones, a chain necklace strung with similar materials and a cocktail ring featuring a huge circular hero glass stone in blue – think Grecian Goddess with a bohemian edge.
Independent Sunshine Coast designer Renee Blackwell is continuing to make what she calls her “look at me” cocktail rings, and ramping-up her use of yellow gold and silver together for the coming season.
“There is a continued trend in large bling rings and bold jewellery in interesting colour combinations,” she says.
Blackwell’s lemon citrine cubic zirconia set in sterling silver with an 18-carat gold rim gives a taste of what’s to come.
Retailers who want in should also be on the hunt for solid sculptural neckpieces in any material, plus huge medallion earrings.
A new chapter of charms
Just when consumers thought they’d come up with every possible creation, those clever charm company designers are bringing more.
Ole Lynggaard
Danish charm wholesaler Ole Lynggaard is venturing into leather territory in an obvious appeal to the young and funky.
Launched at the Baselworld this year, the Sweet Drops collection consists of calfskin leather bracelets in a variety of colours that wrap the wrist many times and accommodate fashion and semi-precious charms set in yellow gold, white gold and silver. The more unique Sweet Drop charms are button-shaped with metallic rims in a nod to the current trend for flat, circular and slim-profiled designs in jewellery.
Pilgrim is continuing its “bigger is better” mantra for charms this spring/summer.
“We think it’s a fun and different idea to enhance our charm collection with quirky designs such as an enormous hearts, flowers or shoes,” says Pilgrim brand manager Alicia Nash. “These can be combined with a more elegant charm or a little charm as something extra to make a woman of any age stand-out from the crowd.”
Economy-chic
Craig Symons has a theory on jewellery spending patterns as we move into summer. The director of medium and high-end wholesaler Osjag says, “The consumer is moving away from lavish-looking jewellery such as multiple diamond-set pieces, partly because it is viewed as slightly ‘old hat’ but also because those types of jewellery are expensive to buy. There is also a consciousness within consumers that in these unprecedented economic times, displays of overt consumerism are inappropriate. People are looking for jewellery that is still satisfying to wear, not too over the top and within a budget.”
Symons, while continuing to offer diamond, coloured stone and pearl jewellery in all gold combinations, has decided to focus more heavily on the Breuning and Blumer silver collections this season. The simple silver pieces in these ranges are combined with matte and polished finishes.
Consumers have found another clever way to combat jewellery costs.
JCKOnline editor Cynthia Silwa recently noted the lasting trend of necklaces with ribbons and scarves in her “Trend Watch” blog entry.
“Necklaces that incorporate ribbons or other strips of fabric have been stylish for several seasons now, and their popularity continues this summer,” she says. “The look is playful and feminine and provides an opportunity to add a shot of colour to a basic strand of pearls or chain.”
On leading fashion photography blog The Sartorialist, women in Sao Paolo are paring boho-gypsy outfits with bracelets of coloured string.
Australian retailers in the costume and perhaps even the semi--precious market would be wise to stock similar designs.
Breuning
Urban edge
Graubard noted “the evolution of punk aesthetic” as a key theme for the Northern Hemisphere’s spring/summer, listing “heavy silver, gold or black chains mixed together for necklaces and bracelets, black on black beading and jewels with fabrics”, as popular looks.
Heavy duty pieces were also seen on the runway – Karl Lagerfield has his models in gladiator-style black metal arm shields. Australia can expect scaled down interpretations.
Ole Lynngaard, for example, offers an all-black leather and Sweet Drop charm combination for the city rock’n’roll chick, while Pilgrim’s new Urban Culture chain necklace with matching earrings features dark medallions in glass stones, enamel and crystallised Swarovski elements resembling the ancient ‘all-seeing eye’ talisman used for protection and wisdom.
Muted metals, dark and distressed leathers, even studs, would all fit this theme.
The olden days
At the other end of the spectrum comes Sybella Morris of Sybella Jewellery’s approach: “Our vision in this season’s collection is to develop a range where bows, butterflies, and flowers are featured prominently, reflecting on decades of timeless style.”
Morris, who sells to independent jewellers around Australia and New Zealand, will work with rhodium/gold-plated sterling silver, freshwater pearl, cubic zirconia and black agate.
Her opulent, pearl long-drop earrings and circular, black agate cocktail ring in particular display obvious references to the Art Deco style.
Renee Blackwell is also looking to the past for her spring/summer range, but she’s been scouring the globe for something very specific: vintage and antique buttons. Blackwell uses her finds to create pendants, earrings and rings.
“Vintage buttons are incredibly original,” she says. “I find them to be miniature treasures.”
Working with old buttons enables Blackwell to work with colours quite different from today’s spectrum: “A 1940s vintage pink is unique,” she says, adding, “You don’t see that colour today.”
For the romantic woman with a bit more to spend, Mark Milton has a spanking new collection of 18-carat rose gold pavé-set rings containing pink and yellow sapphires to freshen-up the summer look.
Summer is just around the corner, and this is but a short list of themes to sizzle during the hotter season. For more ideas, be sure to peruse top high fashion and street fashion websites. Style.com, vogue.com.uk and thesartorialist.blogspot.com are excellent starting points. Good luck on the rest of the fashion--following journey, and happy hunting!
Posted August 01, 2009