Runway Watch: Spring Jewellery Trends 2018
Jewellery seems like a two-horse race at the moment. On the one hand, you have the delicate minimalist designs that have been de rigueur for a few years now, and theyre certainly still looming large on the scene, albeit in a more-is-more kind of way. But a new rival has burst onto the track and its big and bold, and it wants your attention. We take a look at freshest new trends in super-wearable minimalism vs new maximalism.
Mini-Midis:
9ct White Gold & Sapphire Ring
Firstly, on the lighter side, were seeing no decline in the fondness for midi rings. These are generally fine, thin rings that sit below the nail but above the knuckle, which your mother might say it looks as though youve bought a ring thats too small (and that may well be the case), but point her in the direction of Emma Watson and Gigi Hadid, both of whom were recently spotted sporting them, because if its good enough for Emma and Gigi, then its good enough for us. In fact, midi rings have a much longer history than you might think; they were particularly popular amongst Renaissance nobility, as is perfectly illustrated by this portrait:
Attributed to Maestro dei Baldraccani
Now, it might well be that they were worn this way after being received as heirlooms from slighter fingered souls, but it also seems plausible that then, like now, they were not oblivious to the fact that midi rings draw attention to every fine and precise movement that your fingers make, not to mention lending a boho bent to your look, rather attractive qualities to the newly enlightened artistic-types of that time. The trick now though is to load them up. Wear a skinny ring on each finger, not all midis, but certainly, midis interspersed among other subtle beauties. Its minimalism en-masse.
Great Lengths:
Prefer still more subtle adornment? Then XXL pendants are just the thing for you. Chains are taking the long drop and glamorously draping pendants down as low as they dare in homage to the fabulous flapper-girls of the roaring 20s. But these arent showy pieces, theyre light, super-fine chains holding pendants of just enough size to hold them in place. Drop this diamond drop deco pendant on a super long chain:
De puntillas necklace from Uno de 50
Art Meets Architecture:
The clean, spare lines of geometric jewellery have evolved from simple, basic shapes into something more akin to 3D drawings, with the likes of Roksanda and Missoni showing earrings like zig-zag scribbles of metal, and hoops laden with architectural symbolism. Here the creative note is whilst this trend has a minimalist feel, its far from being austere. These pieces are big and bold, making use of large, brightly coloured neon discs or sculptural spheres dangling down to shoulder skimming lengths. It feels like mobile modern sculpture! Be your own walking installation:
Symmetrical Day Earrings by Chris Lewis
Silver and Chalcedony drop earrings
So, all-in-all delicate designs have gone bigger or layered-up and it looks like they might have done so just in the nick of time because, as mentioned at the top of this piece, theres a new kid on the block. The mood is changing; weve had our fill of years of austerity and its time to throw off the demure and bedeck ourselves in all thats gloriously ornate!
Baroque Rocks:
Unless youve been living under a rock, youll be well aware that pearls have seen an unrivalled resurgence in desirability over recent years and they were still very much present on the runways for SS18, but now theyre being included within ornate, intricate and highly embellished numbers that take their inspiration from the Baroque. Indeed the term baroque is derived from the Portuguese word for a non-spherical pearl, dont you know? Look to the shows of Balenciaga and Alexander McQueen youll see exactly what we mean. Baroque pearls mixed with handfuls of gemstones on multiple droppers, collars encrusted with rubies and emeralds, cuffs were stacked high; models were practically dripping with dramatic jewels. Long-time bastions of Baroque, D&G even sent their models down the catwalk in gem-laden crowns.
18ct diamond and tanzanite ring
Club Tropicana:
Perhaps even more spectacular (if thats possible) is the 80s-sport-luxe meets Caribbean-cocktail themes seen at the SS18 shows of Zimmerman, Zadig + Voltaire and Saint Laurent. Kaleidoscopes of uplifting crayon colours mixed with 80s style sportswear and huge metallic lais couldnt fail to summon a holiday mood. Jewellery was heavy on summer motifs with shells on show at Loewes and juicy-looking fruits dangling from ears at Prada and Balenciaga. Grab yourself a Pina Colada and dust off your Wham! album because things are about to get sunshine-happy:
Californication bracelet by Uno de 50
9ct tri colour gold leaf drop earrings
Croco Tears Earrings by Uno de 50
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