Paris Olympics’ Chic Twist: ‘Olympic Purple’ and Art Deco Steal the Spotlight in a Haute Fashion Affair

You have to admit that the French know how to put on a show. Despite their reputation for being relaxed and behind schedule, and despite the provocative opening ceremony that left commentators from various countries speechless, the French have an innate sense of aesthetics.

The Olympic opening ceremony fully showcased their artistic heritage. So what new trends will this Olympics bring? Let’s quickly explore a few key concepts, as the Olympics will set the passionate tone for this summer!

Although Pantone announced “Peach Fuzz” as the color of the year at the beginning of 2023, ever since the French changed the Olympic track to purple, “Olympic Purple” has undoubtedly taken the leading role for the second half of the year. The French are masters of romance, making athletes run through a lavender field – what a poetic scene!

Only Paris could be so romantic, adding elegance and tenderness to the sports arena. You have to admit, their color scheme is incredibly sophisticated. Although purple and green are contrasting colors, this low-chroma lavender purple creates a harmonious collision with the green field, complementing and enhancing each other.

The various applications of purple at the Olympics have audiences exclaiming “absolutely purple”, making it the most trending color at the moment. The French have brought this originally dreamy and soft color into the passionate sports arena, infusing it with more vitality and courage.

Suddenly, the entire fashion world wants to follow the “Olympic Purple” trend. However, it must be said that this lavender purple is quite selective and few people can pull off a full look. Instead, why not choose a piece of “absolutely purple” jewelry, which is both eye-catching and easy to wear?

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01

Amethyst

In the world of gemstones, there are many purple options! The most representative is undoubtedly amethyst, which possesses the purest purple hue and is often the purple choice in many high-end jewelry pieces. Indeed, its color can easily make one overlook its price, as its purple shade is truly irreplaceable among gemstones.

Coincidentally, in the jewelry world, many designers love to pair amethyst with turquoise or chrysoprase, creating a strong color contrast. This bears a striking resemblance to the color scheme of the Olympics, aiming for a combination of elegance and vibrancy.

This contrasting combination is not limited to high-end jewelry circles. Independent designers’ everyday jewelry also adores this pairing, creating a cool, vibrant, and noble allure!

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02

Purple Chalcedony

More subdued than amethyst is purple chalcedony. Its color lies between purple and blue, and due to the stone’s translucent to opaque quality, it gives a more understated and tranquil impression. To be fair, it embodies more of the mysterious, low-key “persona” of purple. This unique, artistic, and cool character is why, despite not being particularly rare, it’s a frequent guest in high-end jewelry circles.

Designers often like to pair it with brighter purple gemstones, such as amethyst or purple sapphire. Bvlgari, for instance, combines large purple chalcedony with amethyst. Van Cleef & Arpels’ Céphéide necklace takes it a step further.

They found extremely rare bi-color tanzanite, naturally featuring both purple-red and blue tones, which perfectly match the color of purple chalcedony. Accented with bright purple sapphires, the overall piece shows delicate variations, with each element complementing the others. Every detail is worth savoring.

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03

Tanzanite

If purple chalcedony exudes a cool feeling, tanzanite should be described as aloof. It’s a blue-leaning purple, more vivid than purple chalcedony, and often appears in large carats with high clarity, giving designers ample creative space.

Highly transparent gemstones naturally require more light to appreciate their color variations. When designing, attention must be paid to the setting method. It’s best to maintain a design that allows light to enter from all sides. Tanzanite can be paired with many materials, but its soul mate seems to be moonstone. The hazy quality of moonstone becomes a perfect match for this low-saturation purple.

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04

Purple Sapphire

A more valuable purple gemstone is sapphire. This gemstone family, which spans the entire color spectrum, naturally includes purple options. Interestingly, many jewelry brands favor using gradually changing purple sapphires in a “group formation” to showcase the sapphire’s versatility and subtle color variations.

Of course, there are also designs that directly use purple sapphires, but these are generally used as the main stone in cocktail rings. This clear yet mysterious violet hue deserves to be the centerpiece.

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05

Purple Jadeite

When it comes to the most valuable purple gemstone, it’s likely purple jadeite. When people think of jadeite, the first thing that comes to mind is “Imperial Green,” but actually, another precious variety is the purple-toned “Lavender Jadeite.” Compared to the deep green, lavender is easier for young women to wear.

However, purple jadeite doesn’t have as good “texture and water” as green jadeite, which is the main reason for its slightly lower value. Therefore, when a purple jadeite bead necklace appears at auction, it’s a rare treasure.

After all, bead necklaces demand the highest quality jadeite, and assembling a complete strand is incredibly rare. As a result, each appearance fetches sky-high prices.

Of course, not everyone has the opportunity to acquire such “collection ceiling” pieces, but smaller purple jadeite jewelry items are worth considering. For instance, pieces showcasing jade carving skills or more fashionable modern designs are choices that Eastern women can easily wear, aligning perfectly with the new Chinese-style trend.

Have you noticed that many designers have adopted the same color scheme as the Paris Olympics, where purple and green seem to be more compatible?

It’s highly recommended to try this combination. While purple is often considered difficult to match, it seems to have no limitations when used in smaller jewelry pieces. Even strong contrasting color combinations catch the eye, as jewelry’s most important role is to add the perfect finishing touch to your total look!

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The 2024 Paris Olympics invited French illustrator Ugo Gattoni, known for his distinctive style, to design the posters. According to reports, he spent a total of 2,000 hours creating two posters for the 2024 Olympics and Paralympics. They present a dreamlike utopia in the Art Deco style, featuring familiar landmarks and “check-in” spots: the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, the Arc de Triomphe… all appearing in a cheerful and colorful scene.

Subsequently, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee released the Visual Identity (VI) design for the Paris Olympics, again emphasizing the Art Deco style. All sports and competition venues were abstracted into symbols, reconstructed using the most basic geometric elements.

Whether it’s the symbol design, color scheme, or subsequent applications, they all showcase France’s leading position in the design world. Indeed, ever since the “Sun King” Louis XIV established Versailles as the fashion center of Europe, French design has been unrivaled, especially in luxury goods and fashion, consistently leading global trends.

Hosting the Olympics in Paris means they must “Versailles it up.” Although the budget may be limited for hardware, visually, every detail is meticulously planned, emphasizing the idea that “no matter what, we look beautiful!”

So, why was the Art Deco style chosen as the main theme? Because Paris is the birthplace of the Art Deco style.

As early as 1925, Paris hosted the World’s Fair known as the “International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts” (Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes). The name itself indicates that decorative design was the main focus, as it was initiated by the Society of Decorative Artists.

They believed that previous World’s Fairs had neglected decorative arts, placing them behind fine arts like painting and sculpture, while the more practical decorative arts deserved to be the main focus of this exhibition.

At the time, the term “Art Deco” didn’t exist. This term was retrospectively proposed by art critic Bevis Hillier in the 1960s. It broadly refers to the modern style, opposing the excessive decoration of the Belle Époque and disagreeing with the naturalistic forms of the Art Nouveau movement.

Art Deco is a visual embodiment of modernist principles, celebrating the triumph of technology and the fashion of the machine age. It emphasizes structure and classical order, pursuing clean lines and geometric shapes, responding to the general desire for order after chaos.

Undoubtedly, this exhibition was a huge success, featuring 150 pavilions and galleries, with 21 countries participating and attracting 6 million visitors. It fully realized the organizers’ intention to revitalize French artistic power and promote French art and luxury craftsmanship. Jewelry particularly shone at this exhibition, becoming a main highlight for visitors, and the design style it formed had a far-reaching influence.

So now you understand, the significant investment in this Paris Olympics is aimed at revitalizing France. While the economic impact may not be immediately apparent, it’s certainly rekindling interest in this ancient artistic powerhouse.

From the opening ceremony to the overall venue construction, there’s a strong emphasis on showcasing France’s cultural heritage and their proud artistic achievements. Choosing the Art Deco style as the main theme is a natural choice, as it represents both past glory and is more easily integrated with modern and sports themes compared to Baroque, Rococo, or Art Nouveau styles.

It’s likely that Art Deco style jewelry will experience a renaissance, given its glorious chapter in jewelry history. If you’re a seasoned jewelry collector, you probably already have an Art Deco piece in your collection – now’s the time to wear it and be instantly fashionable. If you’re new to jewelry collecting, it’s time to acquire an Art Deco piece. After all, this theme is both distinctive and evergreen, periodically coming back into vogue. Investing in one is definitely worthwhile.

This year’s high jewelry collections feature several new Art Deco-inspired pieces. The use of geometric elements and sun ray-like radiating compositions create a unique sense of rhythm and three-dimensionality.

Of course, if you want to acquire more representative Art Deco jewelry, consider vintage pieces. Not only is there a rich selection, but options are available at various price points. The editor recommends bracelets and brooches, as Art Deco jewelry from the 20th century was particularly concentrated in these two categories.

Design themes can be roughly divided into two categories: one featuring purely geometric element combinations, and another emphasizing exotic motifs. For collectors, jewelry with exotic themes tends to have higher collectible value due to its more distinctive era and style characteristics in terms of subject matter and craftsmanship.

From a collecting perspective, it’s advisable to pay attention to design brands. Besides the most representative Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, some jewelry designer brands that have disappeared into history are also worth buying. Their works are more scarce due to limited production.

Consider jewelry brands that shone at the 1925 World’s Fair: Fouquet, Dusausoy, Lacloche Frères, Linseler & Machack, Boivin, Mauboussin, Ostertag… Although their names may be forgotten, their works still record the glory of that era. The craftsmanship, design, and material selection of these brands’ works are not inferior to current luxury jewelry brands. When they appear at auctions, they become highly sought-after targets for collectors.

However, purely geometric elements are easier to wear and can be paired with your wardrobe for any occasion or season, offering higher practical value.

These pieces are also more suitable for layering. The more basic the geometric pattern, the easier it is to create rich variations. For bracelets, regardless of thickness or width, as long as they feature diamond-based geometric elements, they can complement each other well.

As for brooches, the “born in pairs” Clips design emerged. These symmetrical clip-style brooches can be worn as a pair or combined into a larger brooch. Worn separately, they offer versatility; combined, they command attention. They are truly representative of Art Deco style jewelry.

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The third popular keyword led by the Paris Olympics is “female empowerment,” evident in the sixth chapter of the opening ceremony titled “Sororité.” Ten golden statues of outstanding French women slowly rose along the Seine in the rain, representing women leading in various fields. This is the Olympics paying tribute to them.

This Olympics is the first to achieve “gender equality” in the number of athletes, and it’s worth noting that female athletes first participated in the Olympics during the 1900 Paris Games. Perhaps this is why elegant purple is the main color scheme for this Olympics, emphasizing Soft Power. At the end of the opening ceremony, a female knight draped in the Olympic flag cape rode a mechanical horse across the river. This cyber “Joan of Arc” traversing past and present was truly awe-inspiring.

It’s incredibly cool, with female power at its maximum. The concept of female knights isn’t new; in recent years, images of female warriors, valkyries, and knights have been appearing in the jewelry world. Remember Louis Vuitton’s “female knight” high jewelry? Or Zendaya wearing a Bulgari high jewelry necklace with metal armor?

In recent years, female empowerment has reached unprecedented heights. In the jewelry world, large-piece choker necklaces and extra-wide cuff bracelets have become the most prominent representatives, trending from the Oscar red carpet at the beginning of the year to the new high jewelry collections in July. The emphasis is on Soft Power – commanding presence while maintaining elegance and style.

So, ladies, don’t hesitate. If choker necklaces seem too challenging to wear, try a cuff bracelet. In the height of summer, nothing showcases presence better than a cool bracelet. Tiffany’s Bone Cuff, Boucheron’s Quatre Radiant, and Verdura’s Kensington Cuff are all excellent choices.

Of course, the editor believes that the fashion keywords led by the Paris Olympics won’t be limited to just these three. The passionate time of the Olympic flame is bound to inspire more fashion trends. We can cheer for the Olympic athletes while maximizing our sense of participation. This summer, be sure to become a trendy icon who keeps up with the latest fashions!