The current renaissance can be traced to Lanvin, where for fall 2002 Alber Elbaz showed veil-covered pearls strung on black ribbon. These resonated wildly with the fashion set, and Elbaz has continued to fuel the phenomenon, for spring offering crystals slung from grosgrain-threaded chains. He seemed to let his jewelry inspire his entire collection, built as it was around ribbons swirled into clothes that looked drop-dead gorgeous and utterly modern. What’s important in any element of fashion today, he says, is to keep the glamour but make it “user-friendly, without intellectualizing it.”
User-friendly glam is what this jewelry is all about. Since designers favored scale overt enough to captivate from a distance, real pieces so powerful would reach well into six or even seven figures. In the past, such size likely would have been deemed runway-only. But now, women want what they see. (Hence McQueen’s exotic replicas.)
“Once there was personal jewelry and there was runway jewelry, which was much bigger,” says Jacobs. “But today, everything is blown up and exaggerated.” Though he’s a champion of the flashy stuff, even Jacobs suggests a bit of restraint when piling it on. “You’re on the streets,” he cautions, “not a runway.”
