CONTRIBU TOR / INGLE & RHODE
Why embracing the changing demands of the market
opens exciting opportunities for jewellers and artisans
looking to make their mark. By Tim Ingle
A
fter a January that lasted about a decade, it feels like we’ve raced through
the year and collided into spring with its promise of longer days, lighter
moods and renewed energy. With spring comes the Met Gala, held on the
first Monday of May, which punctuates the time of year and showcases the
season’s most coveted jewellery trends.
The 5 May heralds the opening of the Costume Institute’s latest blockbuster exhibition
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Last year’s ‘Heavenly Bodies’ exhibit
welcomed a record number of visitors, along with a thrilling performance by Madonna
at the fundraising Gala. We’re excited to see how the invited celebrities and fashion icons
interpret this year’s theme, ‘Camp: Notes on Fashion’. The theme is inspired by Susan
Sontag’s essay on Camp as a sensibility, where she argues that ‘campness’ is a taste that
re-imagines gender.
Accessories make an outfit, and none more ornately than fine jewellery. We’re interested
to see how this is displayed at the Gala; particularly in light of the refreshing, gender fluid
theme. For the past two years, Jaden Smith has proved an interesting guest to watch for the
accessory choices he makes. After carrying his own freshly chopped dreadlocks on the red
carpet two years ago, and last year sporting two chokers as well as a Vita Fede bracelet, we’re
intrigued to see where he goes with his accessories this year.
Brands are questioning why they shelter their
reach to just one gender or type of couple.
Where unisex clothing is more challenging in
terms of fit and size range, it is far easier to mix
and match jewellery across gender
Men’s fine jewellery sales reached $5.3bn globally in 2017, an increase of 20% in five
years, with millennials driving half the growth. What’s more, the Accelerating Acceptance
report last year, issued by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, reveals
that 20% of 18-34 year olds in the US identify themselves as outside of heteronormative
interpretations of sexuality and gender. Brands are listening and have adapted their
jewellery offering in line with a changing demographic.
It’s funny to think how gendered jewellery has become, when cavemen and women both
wore identical seashell beads, and jewellery has throughout history been more significantly
a symbol of power, status or religion than gender. That delicately ornate items are
perceived as ‘feminine’ is becoming an increasingly less common view. Men can appreciate
jewellery, whether purchasing it for themselves or for significant others; and the level of
consideration, care and creativity that goes into designing bespoke pieces for engagements
and other occasions transcends heteronormative standards. The value, significance, and
lasting meaning that a piece of jewellery can have is universal.
Brands are questioning why they shelter their reach to just one gender or type of couple.
Where unisex clothing is more challenging in terms of fit and size range, it is far easier to
mix and match jewellery across gender. Where once men were confined to accessorising
with months-old festival wristbands, rubber Livestrong bracelets or signet rings, the world
of jewellery has opened up to accommodate the styles and tastes of any and all individuals
looking to make a significant jewellery purchase for themselves, partners or friends.
When he moved to Dior last year, Kim Jones appointed Yoon Ahn, co-founder of unisex
jewellery brand, Ambush, as head of jewellery at Dior Homme. Her latest collection features
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