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Recession-minded jewelry designers get practical
By Catherine Dayrit
May 13, 2009
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| Naeem Khan's Fall 2009 presentation featured one-of-a-kind jewelry creations from Sevan, including (left) the "Ruby" necklace in 24-karat gold and sterling silver with rubies, colored diamonds and carved citrine intaglio, plus the "Icon" and "Ida" rings; and (right), the "Wheat" necklace in 24-karat gold and sterling silver with blue, green and colorless diamonds, blue topaz, micromosaic tiles and carved blue topaz intaglio. |
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New York--Jewelry has enjoyed quite a run on the Fashion Week catwalks for the last two seasons, but expect a bit of a retreat for fall 2009.
Bold, statement necklaces held their own at the recent Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, but they were more loosely draped and less glittery. The face-framing trend that prevailed in fall 2008, when drop earrings were hot, and again in spring 2009, when large gold hoops were paired with boho-style gowns, virtually vanished. Instead, designers for the upcoming fall season mostly ignored the ears in favor of accessorizing the lower half of the body with over-the-knee boots and sparkly, bejeweled hosiery.
The good news, however, was that fashion and jewelry collaborations remained strong, with luminaries from the jewelry world, including Robert Lee Morris, H. Stern, Leviev and Sevan, teaming up with fashion designers to accessorize models at various shows.
One Fashion Week observer, Amy Goodman, fashion trend director for Timex, said the recession was clearly on designers' minds, noting that this preoccupation manifested itself in two opposing ways.
"Either they made the clothes really wearable and thought of what women wanted and needed, or they did fantasy pieces, so that if a woman was going to invest in a piece it would be truly outstanding," Goodman said.
Models for Diane von Furstenberg's fall 2009 collection, stationed clearly in the former camp, traipsed down the runway in the designer's signature wrap dresses paired with cozy knits, including slouchy cardigans and leggings. And Donna Karan also presented a collection in which ease-of-wear was at a premium, with tailored separates that could be easily mixed and matched, and satin jersey gowns that could be thrown on in a moment for a dash of insouciant chic.
While billowy, feminine apparel will be in for spring and summer, silhouettes for fall will be much more structured and streamlined, Goodman said, with retailers stocking form-fitting pants, tailored jackets and lots and lots of black.
Jayne Mountford, vice president of trend reporting for New York-based fashion trend forecasting company Stylesight, says that the big message for fall is "wearable luxury," and that heavier materials, including velvet, leather and fur, will loom large.
"What we saw was a much stricter-looking silhouette, it was more urban warrior woman," Mountford says.
They love the '80s
On the other hand, in terms of the wilder, more fantasy-like pieces, an '80s redux is set to take place, a wistful shift that Mountford says hearkens back to that era's bull market. Though the decade's sense of style inspires a fair share of naysayers, fashion designers--apparently undeterred--have officially summoned big shoulder pads, acids greens and hot pinks back into action.
Donna Karan's collection subtly referenced the decade with belted suit jackets and broad, powerful shoulders, while fashion designer Marc Jacobs went after it full tilt, delivering the era's signature defined shoulders and much more, including short, voluminous party dresses, crimped hair, winged-out eye shadow and, of course, plenty of neon.
In terms of jewelry wardrobing, fashion designers propped necklaces, especially gun-metal gray and oxidized-gold versions, atop knit turtlenecks and sweaters. While bib styles and hefty, armor-like necklaces dominated fashion's last few seasons, the necklaces for fall 2009 were more often layered and featured a softer, draped look, as illustrated by Robert Lee Morris' pieces on the Donna Karan runway, and Roxanne Assouline's designs on the catwalk at Brian Reyes' show.
Because many of the season's silhouettes feature dramatic shoulders, wardrobing will take considerably more thought than it does for the anything-goes, bohemian vibe of spring and summer 2009.
"It's all a matter of balance and proportions," Goodman says.
So while a necklace might not work with a coat featuring strong, defined shoulders, consumers might want to stack bangles at the wrist or wear a bold ring.
While drop earrings were occasionally seen on the runways, such sightings were more of an anomaly for fall.
"There weren't a lot of strong statements in earrings," Goodman says. "Where you would see a lot of shine and sparkle on the ears [in the past], you're seeing it on tights."
Another reason, perhaps, for less of a jewelry presence for fall is the amount of sparkle and shine on apparel.
Fashion stylist Nashid Braswell, who has dressed the likes of Jay-Z, Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige, notes that sequins and metallic tones were prominent in the collections of designers such as Doo.Ri, Rodarte and Nanette Lepore.
But even within that glitz-focused trend, there could be an opening for jewelry.
"If you're not adventurous enough to take on the full metallic look, maybe combining jewel-toned clothing with metallic jewelry is a good alternative to interpreting this runway trend into everyday life," Braswell says.
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