The annual Couture jewelry exhibition in Las Vegas serves as a grand stage for emerging designers to showcase their creative prowess. Pieces lacking innovation dare not make an appearance here, making this event a trendsetter in the jewelry world. This year, with an influx of fresh talent, these out-of-the-box designs have catapulted jewelry fashionability to the next level! Let’s explore the six major new trends from this year’s show.
Many women often find themselves torn between yellow gold, white gold, and rose gold when selecting jewelry materials. Now, you no longer need to agonize over this choice. The Couture show has revealed that mixed metals have become the new trend. A single piece of jewelry may now incorporate two or even three metal colors, not only showcasing rich color variations but also creating different texture effects.
Suzanne Kalan, a Los Angeles-based jewelry designer who founded her brand in 1988, is known for her handcrafted modern jewelry featuring various textures and gemstones. Her style is clean yet detailed. She enjoys mixing different colored metals and emphasizes textural changes through varied finishes, such as pairing mirror-like surfaces with textured ones or using diamonds to brighten the effect of white gold.
French jewelry brand Statement Paris presented its bestselling “My Way” ring. Designer Amélie Huynh, inspired by the Art Deco movement and Fauvist architecture, employed a dual-color design of white and yellow gold. She believes this combination merges the energies of the sun and moon.
Another designer, Alice Herald, also drew inspiration from architectural art. In creating her Istoria collection, she referenced Greek and Roman architectural styles. The “Dreamer” ring, in particular, showcases the structure of ancient columns and domes. To further emphasize the interplay of white and yellow gold, she incorporated diamonds and yellow sapphires.
Speaking of the most popular gemstone at this year’s Couture show, opal undoubtedly emerged as the new “trendsetter.” Many designers independently chose opal to create their signature pieces, showcasing the diverse facets of this unique gemstone known for its play-of-color effect through various creative approaches.
Lydia Courteille, a veteran of the Couture show, presented an insect-inspired collection featuring Australian black opals. One of her brooches boasts a 71.38-carat black opal, while a ring showcases an 18.25-carat electric blue opal. These opals perfectly capture the distinctive texture of insects, making them an ideal choice for the theme.
Jewelry designer Harwell Godfrey seemed to be on the same wavelength as Lydia Courteille, also opting to create insect-themed pieces with opals. However, her inspiration drew from a more ancient source – the protective Egyptian scarab beetle.
Although white opals may not exhibit as intense a play-of-color as black opals, they are believed to possess a sacred protective power. This aligns well with Harwell Godfrey’s expertise, as she specializes in designing talisman jewelry. She believes that each piece of jewelry should have a strong emotional connection with its wearer. For instance, her white opal and amethyst scarab pendant is designed to help the wearer calm their emotions and clear their thoughts.
Los Angeles-based jewelry brand Lord is helmed by a father-daughter design duo. The father, Sinork Agdere, a master goldsmith, founded the brand 50 years ago. When his color-loving daughter Lena joined the brand, she infused their creations with a more youthful and vibrant charm. This year marked their debut at the Couture show.
For their inaugural appearance, they brought their most prized creations – a series of colorful jewelry pieces featuring opals with rich color variations as the centerpieces. They prefer to use high-purity enamel to outline these gemstones, creating strong contrasts in texture and color. This technique makes the vibrant colors even more eye-catching and enhances the magical quality of the play-of-color effect.
Eden Presley, a New York-based jewelry brand founded by designer Gwen Myers, offers a fascinating contrast. Despite being based in the modern metropolis, her designs exude a free-spirited Bohemian style.
Myers favors small, beautiful designs that mix various gemstones, often preserving their natural shapes to celebrate nature’s beauty. For instance, she uses opals to craft butterfly wings or combines small opals with various gemstones to fully showcase their iridescent charm.
From celebrities to fashion bloggers, jewelry with a modern sculptural feel has been popular for some time. However, at this year’s Couture show, sculptural jewelry took on a more rounded appearance, with wave-like designs dominating the trend.
This shift suggests that angular, “hardcore” jewelry might be giving way to smoother, curved modern abstract sculptures. It’s worth noting that this design may be slightly challenging for those with round faces to pull off.
Pamela Zamore began her career as an interior designer but later discovered her passion for jewelry, prompting a career change. Her architectural background is evident in her designs, which often incorporate lines and silhouettes reminiscent of buildings.
Making her Couture show debut, Zamore presented jewelry that was both bold and soft, abstract yet modern. Her layered curves reveal her attention to detail, while minimalist silhouettes convey a sense of sculptural power.
The well-known brand Bea Bongiasca brought its 10th-anniversary collection to the Couture show. Known for its lively candy colors, the brand this time presented designs with powerful, wave-like sculptural elements.
Vanessa Fernandez Studio also made its Couture show debut. Fernandez, a Cuban-Armenian jewelry designer and craftsperson born in Miami, graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts with a focus on fine arts, crafts, and material studies.
“Curva Twist” ring
In her jewelry design, Vanessa Fernandez draws inspiration from the female form and the Art Nouveau movement, creating pieces with fluid lines and sculptural qualities. Each piece exudes feminine elegance while maintaining a sense of strength. She presented her latest collection, Curva, which means “curve” in Spanish, representing her understanding of sculpture, body movement, and life cycles.
Helena Rose has given a new twist to common “letter” jewelry. Her Character series draws inspiration from sculptural art and pays homage to the bold Retro Style of the 60s and 70s. She transforms ubiquitous letters into three-dimensional, layered miniature sculptures, with gold-crafted curves adding “thickness” to the pieces.
The unique silhouette design also introduces a “new game” of stacking. Wearers can combine letters to form any word according to their preferences, with each letter seamlessly connecting to create “new words.” This DIY aspect adds an element of fun that’s worth exploring!
Childlike whimsy serves as a wellspring of inspiration for many young designers. They observe the world with curious eyes, aiming to infuse their jewelry creations with joy and novelty. The Couture show itself is a stage for young designers to showcase their talents, naturally giving rise to pieces brimming with youthful spirit. This year, the emphasis is on “Sweet” designs – after all, who can resist a delightful piece of candy?
For instance, Mined + Found’s signet ring has been reimagined not as a symbol of power and status, but as an openable candy box. When the textured gold lid is rotated open, it reveals sweet candies crafted from enamel and gemstones inside. This ingenious ring has been aptly named “Sweet Life”.
Sophie Joanne, based in Amsterdam, is known for her colorful gemstone designs. Her “Bubble Key” necklace features delicate pink opal and green chalcedony, complemented by dazzling peridots, creating a vibrant, youthful color palette. The entire “key” design is adorably crafted, with the circular part reminiscent of a tempting donut.
Salome Rico favors colorful gemstones, carving them into small cylindrical ice cream shapes. Her Gelato Mania series can be worn individually or stacked, subtly hinting at one’s favorite flavors while providing a “cool” sensation when worn.
In addition to the “ice cream” designs, Rico also presented her masterpiece – an adorable owl. This round-headed owl, named Chouette, is irresistibly cute, especially when paired with other vibrant, candy-like gemstones.
Today’s young people prefer versatility, making kinetic jewelry an excellent choice. These designs, which can transform in wear or have movable components, offer constant change and maintain a sense of freshness.
Ox is a new brand founded by siblings Jessica and Michael Busiashvili, making their Couture show debut. Their jewelry aesthetic is deeply influenced by their family history. When their grandparents immigrated to Los Angeles from the Soviet Union, they sold their family diamonds to open an antique jewelry store, successfully establishing themselves in their new home.
The siblings place great emphasis on the quality and craftsmanship of their jewelry, believing that only heirloom-worthy pieces truly qualify as jewelry. Jessica states, “They started anew with diamonds, so jewelry’s value should be preserved or even increase over time. I aim to create such high-quality pieces.”
When establishing their brand, they chose simple materials – gold and diamonds, the two most value-retaining jewelry materials. However, they showcase avant-garde concepts with these basic materials through their patented Ourglass chain link design.
The Ourglass links have equal height and width, composed of two intersecting hourglass-shaped components with diamonds set at each of the four ends. This means there’s no “wrong way” to view or wear the Ourglass links, as diamonds are visible from every angle.
Moreover, each link’s circular shape allows it to roll smoothly with the wearer’s natural movements. Jessica notes, “This seemingly simple design demands extremely high craftsmanship. If the links differ by even 0.1 mm, they won’t connect tightly.”
Vice Versa Jewelry, a young brand established in New York in 2020, draws inspiration from dynamic objects and mechanical designs. Their style appears robust yet flexible. Their seemingly basic tennis diamond necklaces and bracelets feature floating diamonds, allowing for multi-angle light reflection and a more dazzling appearance when worn.
Lucy Delius designs jewelry inspired by Victorian styles but with a modern twist. She transforms the gentlemen’s watch chains of the Victorian era into women’s bracelets and abstracts the emotional jewelry representative of that time – Charms – into versatile, combinable pieces, creating transformable, multi-purpose jewelry.
Adjustable chain length and combinable with different Charms
Francesca Villa, who founded her brand in 2007, is known for drawing inspiration from vintage trinkets. Her ingenuity breathes new life into these antique treasures. Making her Couture show debut this year, she exhibited intriguing flip rings combining 1950s resin cameos, miniature paintings, and vintage men’s buttons from Parisian antique markets, creating a wonderfully whimsical effect.
Francesca Villa explains, “We all have our ups and downs. These flip rings and pendants capture these mood changes. One side might feature an elegant cameo portrait, but when you’re feeling down, you can flip it to reveal a cheerful design, like a miniature painting of ‘radishes on a picnic blanket’, evoking happy summer memories.”
The combination of different materials has always been a trump card for jewelry designers, as this technique easily creates a fresh look. For instance, Sara Beltrán’s marine life series uses various shells, conch shells, and mother-of-pearl for design. Although Verdura and David Webb have used this technique before, Sara Beltrán’s style is undoubtedly more rugged and natural.
She preserves the original appearance of the shells to the maximum extent, using gold or gemstones for simple outlining or accentuation. This gives her work a stronger vacation style, perfectly capturing a relaxed feel.
Shinkai is a namesake brand founded by Japanese designer Mizuki Shinkai. In Japanese, Shinkai also means pearl, hinting at the designer’s fondness for using pearls in her creations. Her latest works are themed around “planets,” with diamonds set on large Tahitian pearls to mimic planets floating in space. Alternatively, she sets star sapphires in baroque pearls to create the effect of spacecraft windows roaming through space.
Gold, pearl, diamonds
Gold, star sapphire, diamonds
Campbell + Charlotte, another brand making its Couture show debut, is helmed by designer Jenny McHugh, who aims to showcase the rich power of women in her work. After becoming a mother, this young designer gained a deeper understanding of the richness and delicacy of female power. Consequently, she chose to use multiple layered gemstone inlays to demonstrate this gentle yet magnificent power.
After viewing so many new jewelry pieces, have you grasped the latest fashion rules in the jewelry world? Indeed, it’s all about vibrant youthfulness, whether in color or shape.
This Couture show clearly gave youth a boost, with large carat gemstones and complex craftsmanship no longer being the designers’ focus. Instead, their new goal is to make jewelry more versatile for everyday wear. Don’t hesitate – upgrade your jewelry box and stay fashionable!
6 Sizzling Trends from Couture Jewelry Show: Chic Factor Skyrockets to the Next Level!
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