All Elegance and Glamour
(Published in JCK Magazine in edition 3 / 2001)

The Vicenza Fair in January, opening the season of spring fairs, always evokes great expectations. Starting a new year one expects new trends to come with it. The Italians being the masters in the styling of fashionable yet wearable jewelry have an extra burden to carry concerning these expectations.

Winter 00/01has seen the arrival of a new opulence in women’s fashion. Classic elegance and ladylike chic on one hand and over-the-top, rich glamour style on the other hand have arrived on the streets. They marked a complete turnaround from the 90’s minimalism. Therefore expectations were even higher by the visitors to see what Italian designers had to say about the jewelry to go with the new trend.

The fair itself had some news to present. The hall G, which hosted in former years a rather mixed group of exhibitors, has now been transformed into a new high-end hall hosting all the big brand names of Italian jewelry making. The machinery part of the show has been dislocated to an other building in the vicinity of the fair. This offered the visitors a more concentrated look at the different sectors of the trade and a lot of stunning new stand designs.

Real new trends on the product side were hard to spot. The uncertainty about the way business will be in 2001 and the overall slow Christmas season seemed to have had a calming effect on the designers. So what there was on show was still a lot of white gold with pavé settings. This trend seems to continue mostly through the strong demand from the consumer’s side, which has in many markets only started to develop a taste for the white. What can be taken as a direct homage for the new trend of lurex fabrics in fashion is a new kind of brilliantly shining surface treatment. It appeared on many silver designs but also in white and yellow gold. Specially in combination with smooth polished parts it had a distinctive and contemporary look. Other kinds of structures were woven or crocheted effects, which could be seen quite often. The sparkling surfaces certainly evoke the glamorous effect which suits the new style in fashion and design.

The trend towards yellow gold, which is apparent in all parts of fashion, accessories and design, only hesitantly showed up in Vicenza. There were magnificent extra wide bracelets in woven structures which reminded of the 50’s glamour and elegance and there were equally the large and bold chain necklaces which were all but out during the 90’s. They are back with a vengeance and fit the sharply tailored suits and the big hair of this years glamour youth. Necklaces have a distinctive style in 2001. The Y-necklace seems to have risen to the rank of a new classics and can’t be missed by anyone. The more glamorous option is the V-shaped necklace with its plunging center part. Then there are the big and bold chains with chunky links and wide colliers-de-chiens in shining soft meshes. Last but not least the multi-strand necklaces consisting of fine chains in growing lengths are an everyday classic which will probably appeal to women as an accessory for the coming summer.

Rings were a big theme too. Here the Italians showed their taste for color. They stayed in large parts with their ever favorites citrine, amethyst, blue topaz and peridot. Especially appealing for this summer is the combination of white metals with yellow stones. This is a fresh and very chic combination which is set to take the market by storm. It will also play with this summers fashion palette, where strong lemon accents play with coral red and turquoise on white. As purple continues to be around both in interior and in fashion women will probably be very interested to buy into amethyst too. Peridot in its fresh tone is for the daring and the avant-garde. This color being an essential part of the winter 01/02 color scheme is therefore something to watch out for. Blue topaz in its icy shade also matches well into summers glamorous 80’s style wardrobe. All these colored stones come mostly in white settings, for the extra trend conscious they should be set in yellow or even rose gold settings. The palette of red and pink tones was another favorite theme in Vicenza. Very often used in pavé settings. The rings most up-to-date are surprisingly classic in style. The old theme of entourage could be seen often. Rings with a large center stone and a modern version of stone setting around it, had this distinct classic look which makes them so desirable. For a sleek look a large colored center stone in a bold setting works perfectly.