Jewellery gets the star treatment: Fall fashions put jewellery in the limelight

by charlene_voisin | August 1, 2012 9:00 am

By Amanda Gizzi

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Jewellery trends develop from a wide range of influences, such as clothing styles, fabric colours, economics, and socio-economics. To uncover the hottest jewellery trends for each season, every inspiration has to be considered, analyzed, and scrutinized to determine how it translates to jewellery. Here’s a look at some of the styles leading the fall trends.

Ultra femme

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The masculine look and oh-so-pretty fashions took centre stage at the fall 2012 runways earlier this year. What do the two have in common? Ultra-feminine jewellery. Structured powerhouse navy pantsuits, like those shown at Miu Miu, will call on dangling necklaces and other feminine jewellery to soften the esthetic. On the opposite side of the spectrum, demure lady-like offerings were ubiquitous with tweeds, floral prints, and lace. Jewel-adorned headwear and oversized brooches on black and white print coats saturated Oscar de la Renta’s breakout collection. These refined fabrics and designs inspire the desire for super-feminine jewellery. Oh-so-chic styles include bows, gumball-size strands of pearls, and brooches, as well as lacy, textured metal.

Naturally one-of-a-kind

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During tough economic times, consumers tend to buy less expensive mass-produced items. Tired of cookie-cutter styles, they are drawn to one-of-a-kind and unique pieces. Bench jewellers and artisans can rejoice, as custom jewellery lets women embrace their individuality. Look for perfectly imperfect gemstones—think rutilated quartz and rough diamonds and gemstones—to be the focal point of these custom designs. Baroque pearls’ natural beauty also fit nicely with this trend, as each is seemingly one-of-a-kind. For metal pieces, textured or hand-hammered gold, platinum, and silver will take the place of high-polish finishes. Unique jewellery allowing for personal engraving speaks to individuality and will be sought-after this season.

Royally purple

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Get ready to go crazy for purple! Colour forecast firm Pantone Inc., predicts ‘Rhapsody’—a smoky purple colour—to be one of the top hues for fall 2012. We also saw purple tones all over the fall runways. At Bottega Veneta and Gucci, purples were dark, deep shades, while Alberta Ferretti, Louis Vuitton, and Erdem all had lighter, rich shades. Get ready for purple stones like amethyst, chalcedony, and died mother-of-pearl to be the season’s must-haves.

Beautifully bold

Statement pieces will stand out this fall, with scale and colour both playing big roles. Bold, oversized earrings will be called upon to accessorize one of the hottest fashion trends, peplum. Seen on the runways of Dsquared², Bottega Veneta, Etro, and Moschino, peplum adds an extra short layer of fabric on skirts and dresses, and falls just below the hip. With attention naturally drawn to that area, bold earrings help entice the eyes back up to the face. Besides peplum, high-neck dresses and tops will be popular this season, making room for statement earrings to be the accessory of choice. As for necklaces, bold pieces are one sign that minimalism—a result of a still-uncertain economy—is being left behind. Multi-strand chain necklaces, singular chokers, and oversized gemstone cluster bibs are three standout styles.

Rawhide splendor

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Cooler fall weather means leather. At the shows, Michael Kors put the spotlight on black leather shirts and shrugs, Rodarte led with black and white leather dresses, and Kevork Kiledjian featured long-sleeved, high-neck black leather dresses. However, it was Derek Lam that arguably did leather the best with a sleek black pencil skirt that should be a staple in every woman’s wardrobe. All this leather will not stop at clothing, though, and will make its way to jewellery cases. Look for designers to mix it with metals such as gold, platinum, and sterling silver. Seek out chic leather bracelets, cuffs, and cords for necklaces.

Fall’s colour palette

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In addition to ‘Rhapsody,’ Pantone also predicts smoky pale pink ‘Rose Smoke’ and ‘Titanium,’ a deep, sleek grey, to be hot this season. Don’t forget the boldness of ‘Pink Flambé,’ ‘Bright Chartreuse,’ ‘Olympian Blue,’ and ‘Tangerine Tango.’ What does all this mean for jewellery? It means we can predict smoky stones in big bold designs to soar in popularity this season. One final trend: white will be a big colour for clothing this fall, giving coloured gemstones a neutral palate to showcase their beauty.

Amanda Gizzi is director of communications for Jewelers of America (JA). She is recognized as an authority on fine jewellery and watch trends, savvy shopping tips, and gift-giving ideas. Gizzi appears regularly on television shows and radio programs throughout the United States, where she showcases the latest trends and provides consumers with fine jewellery and watch education. She can be contacted at agizzi@jewelers.org[7].

Source URL: https://www.jewellerybusiness.com/features/jewellery-gets-the-star-treatment-fall-fashions-put-jewellery-in-the-limelight/

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