HAUTE FASHION & HIGH JEWELLERY at Paris Couture Week
Dior couture with plastic pearls // jewellery + couture highlights…
Paris is the epicenter of luxury during Haute Couture week, a tradition dating back to 1973, regarded as the most grandest (bi-annual) moment in the fashion calendar. Little wonder then, that fine jewellery presentations eventually synced up to Couture’s finely tuned clock…
Jill Newman writes for Town & Country: “the formal haute joaillerie presentations began in January 2010 when the most prestigious Place Vendôme jewelers joined together to show their collections as part of the official haute couture week of the Chambre Syndicale in Paris. The houses, including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, and Boucheron, who were already offering high jewelry at prestigious shows and events, decided to exhibit their jewels when the world’s fashionable elite were already coming to Paris for haute couture.”
For Paris Couture Week 2023, Dior, Graff, Cartier, Boucheron, De Beers, Gucci, Cindy Chao, David Morris and Repossi showcased new high jewellery, while Chanel showed a small set of watches. Van Cleef & Arpels and Piaget were a no-show this season, but Boucheron’s ‘Like a Queen’ is such an interesting case study of a fine jewellery collection that it demanded its own post.
When the finest jewellery is across the street from the most elevated fashion in the world, it seems a missed opportunity for brands and fans of luxury alike not to see high jewellery on the runways. It’s easier said than done, and consensus between the biggest luxury houses is hard won, but a particular moment at this years’ Paris Couture week highlights this strange dislocation: Dior’s runway show…
As ever, for 2023 Dior’s long-term creative director of haute joaillerie Victoire de Castellane has created an impeccable collection of fine jewellery - titled ‘Dearest Dior’ - a highly intricate and unapologetically feminine affair, which debuted this week.
Cut to: Dior’s Haute Couture runway presentation, where multiple strands of plastic pearls and poorly engineered crystal chains bowed under the weight of the heaviest stones, obscuring them from view, adorning the models. Commenters noticed the extremely poor quality of the jewellery, particularly in the context of accessorizing HAUTE COUTURE.
Right now, any runway jewellery feels like a win (more here on this sparse red carpet jewellery era!) It’s confounding to see Dior separately present two haute couture, high end collections which could so easily be paired, creating an effect that’s a whole greater than the sum of its parts.
Chanel and Fendi’s Couture catwalks similarly eschewed their own in-house jewellery lines (albeit fashion jewellery rather than fine in Fendi’s case,) but Fendi showeed a series of earrings and accessories that perfectly fit the couture fashion it was matched with: tightly bound crystals in mismatched earrings, ropes and odd, globular shapes were occasionally punctuated with baroque pearls - all highly wearable, and playing a coherent part of the collection’s larger narrative.
Anabela Chan & Miss Sohee showed us the way forward for blending the best of jewellery and fashion presentations this couture week. Ball gowns in Miss Sohee’s signature jewel toned opulent silks were accessorised with Anabela Chan’s vibrant coloured aluminium and gemstone statement earrings (some of which were so long they’d qualify as ‘nipple-grazers’,) as well as giant cocktail rings, brooches and necklaces.
Fashion month still lies ahead, so there’s hope for more jewellery on the catwalks yet. Given that the purpose of Couture week is to show exceptional clients the exceptional pieces, putting differences aside for the sake of the greater good (magnificent luxury couture experiences for customers and audiences alike) seems like a necessary evolution.
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