More is more: the Wallpaper* pick of A/W 2016’s most striking catwalk jewellery
Last season’s blossoming ’more is more’ catwalk jewellery trend hit full bloom for A/W 2016, with dozens of designers opting for an eclectic, era-hopping mix of fanciful runway bijou. We also witnessed a shift towards quirky, even outlandish standalone pieces, with oversized necklaces and chokers headlining the fun. But the take home message from this season has to be the return of the earring – there was hardly a bare lobe in the house. Here we round up a few of our favourite pieces... Pictured: Gucci. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Writer: Elly Parsons
Gucci: Alessandro Michele’s A/W 2016 collection skittered through the eras, taking influence from every decade – and the accessories were no exception. Heavily stacked pearl rings recalled 1950s glamour, as delicate 1930s chainmail gloves shimmered underneath. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Alexander McQueen: Wisps of hair escaped from floral hairpieces, only to be caught up by austere, silver neck chains this season at McQueen, as Sarah Burton continued to walk her well-trodden line between girly refinement and gothic severity. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Balmain: Balmain’s girliness, on the other hand, stepped up a gear for A/W 2016. Tightly clinging to the choker trend of S/S 2016, wide, acrylic neckpieces were tinted either baby pink or blue and embellished by super-sweet rose gold settings. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Chanel: Lifting up Chanel’s heavy overcoats and layering this season revealed opulent lengths of pebble-sized pearls draped around necklines, with a touch of levity added by charmingly kooky cat cuffs. Photography: Courtesy of Chanel
Calvin Klein Collection: Impeccable tailoring was paired with minimal jewellery, as Calvin Klein bucked this season’s ’more is more’ trend. This being said, it was difficult to know where the jewellery ended, and the heavily embelished dresses began. Large holes were snipped in cocktail sheaths to reveal exquisite polished stones and geode inserts. Strategically placed metallic flashes early in the show came in the form of heart-shaped locket pendants on short, black-chrome necklaces, hinting at the show-stopping inserts to come. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Stella McCartney: Boldly oversized sky-blue, claret and mousy-silver earrings were mini-sculptures in themselves at Stella McCartney’s undeniably cool A/W show. They were peppered throughout the collection, with refreshing abandon, piquing the show’s oversized puffer jackets. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Christopher Kane: Little Edie-inspired headscarfs kept hair neatly covered this season for Christopher Kane’s ’Lost and found’ show. But Edie’s signature gold jewellery was replaced by Kane’s leather cuffs and cable-tie bangles. Last season, the cable-ties were plastic, embossed with multi-coloured ’Christopher Kane’ stamps; this season they were metallic, and weighed down by Swarovski crystals. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Dior: The ring-stacking trend continued at Dior, adding a contemporary edge to this ever so lady-like collection. Our favourites included the intricate, almost mechanical, droplet rings, where diamonds were suspended in gold prism cages, alongside the chunkier, vintage-look pieces that recalled the old faithful at the bottom of the jewellery box. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Hermès: Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski was another creative director who saw no need to tick the trend box this season. Show-stopping marble brooches created by Studio Hermès were finished with highly lacquered metal, adding detail to the otherwise minimal, yet pristine, display. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Dries Van Noten: Opulent, thick black chokers were secured by a pearl-topped pin, blurring the boundary between the necklace and the scarf, and making Dries Van Noten’s collection a thoroughly decadent affair. It was inspired by the Marchesa Luisa Casati and the poet/lover Gabriele D’Annunzio after all. Jewels were also scattered across evening gowns, which were adorned with slabs of semi-precious stones, adding to the show’s commanding regality. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Elie Saab: A complex layering of pastel-toned rings and matching earrings complemented a polka-dot chiffon backdrop, and punctuated the swathes of velvet and bohemian fringe at Elie Saab. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Ellery: With a colour palette anchored in deep blacks, warm rusts, and velvety blues, Australian label Ellery’s jewellery was used to add accent colours (sea blue and candy pink), while metallic moments flickered throughout. Reminiscent of American artist Alexander Calder’s mobiles, the brand’s signature street-smart edge came through in the slim necklaces and earrings that bore elaborate, skeletal fingers. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Erdem: Elegant, yet heavily bejewelled hair clips held tousled side-parted manes off the face, highlighting the dainty pendant earrings that twinkled underneath. Said earrings were encrusted with glittering, subtly coloured gem stones that mimicked flying ladybirds. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Esteban Cortázar: Jewellery, and accessories in general, were a little scarce at Estaban Cortazar this season, but when they did appear, we took note. Slim gold hoops were boldly coiled around chunky necklaces and rings in this rap-diva inspired show. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Salvatore Ferragamo: The Italian house proposed silver, spherical cones to complement its zig-zagging, 1970s-inspired show. They featured at the end of lengthy, dangling earrings as well as on the clasps of loose-fitting bangles – adding a warm contrast to the hard lines of the recurring lighting-bolt pattern. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Isabel Marant: Squared-off paper clips were the understated yet undeniably cool earring of the day at Isabel Marant – especially when paired with the thick, biker-chain necklaces and 1980s band badges, creating the successful illusion of a post-punk princess. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Loewe: Jewellery was central to Loewe’s collection this season, as JW Anderson pushed the boundary of what a necklace could do. Oversized cat faces, African mask emblems and cool buckle-fasten handbags acted as pendants, appearing on the end of slim fabric strips or semi-precious stone chains. But the bizarre yet beautiful jewellery overload didn’t stop there – more conventional gold, hoop-chained chokers also glinted around necks and cuffs. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Louis Vuitton: Ears were ringing again at this the much discussed Louis Vuitton show, as long, slim, and almost transparent silver encrusted earrings flashed through Nicolas Ghesquière’s dark leather and patchwork pairings. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Marni: Creative director Consuelo Castiglioni meant bijou business this season, opting for some serious baubles hanging from tiered gold chains, continuing A/W’s earring-heavy trend. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
MSGM: The simple hoop earring was all bent out of shape this season at MSGM. Elegant, oversized silver hoops appeared in square, oval or asymmetric loops – not always necessarily in pairs – carrying the pattern-packed collection’s levity and sense of nonchalance through into the jewellery. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Paul Smith: An eclectic mix of well chosen jewellery pieces adorned each of Paul Smith’s looks. We’re still not sure how the slim metal hair ties held hair back so tidily. But one thing’s for sure, the quirky apple-core shaped pendants and sweetie-coloured globes organised into ear-cuffs provided welcome splashes of colour. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Prada: Adorable gilded miniature notebooks were worn on the models’ necks like jumbo lucky charms. They also hung off large brass hoops attached to waist-cinching belts. Otherwise jewellery was sensibly scarce at Prada. Perhaps it was hiding behind those high necklines and quirky sailor bonnets? Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Proenza Schouler: The boy’s New York show at the Whitney Museum looked to American art of the 1960s for inspiration. Indeed, each odd, asymmetric sculptural earring could have been a miniature Richard Serra sculpture in its own right. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Rodarte: Antique-style bejewelled earrings, lambskin cuffs, and belt-buckles worn as chokers, emphasised the burgeoning ’something old, something new’ trend, while over-the-top floral headdresses (which included real orchids mixed in with the fake ones) tied into the sister’s ’electric-garden’ themed set design. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Saint Laurent: Decadent, 1980s-style oversized earrings and thick gold bangles epitomised the heightened glamour of Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent couture show. Here, shimmering angel wing shaped ear-cuffs perfectly complemented the collection’s top-heavy, power-dressing silhouettes. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Simone Rocha: Lopsided chandelier earrings in blood-red were bravely paired with diamond drop earrings, with wrists and necklines otherwise covered by thick tweed or voluminous tulle sleeves. A special mention also has to go to Rocha’s crystal flower-shaped buttons, which were almost like pieces of jewellery in themselves. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Tommy Hilfiger: If the gigantic ocean liner ’TH Atlantic’ positioned ringside at Hilfiger’s A/W show didn’t give the theme away, the jewellery certainly did. Crews of 1940s sailors cast anchor in 2016, with simple rope-tie chokers that didn’t quite make it all the way around the neck, invoking a (not-so-rugged) sailor’s tattoo. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Vivienne Westwood: Simple office-style paperclips were paired with innovative dangling door-key earrings at Westwood, introducing a fanciful ’found jewellery’ trend, and nodding, once again to the post-punk 1980s. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Lanvin: Collar-brushing chandelier earrings and jewelled chokers finished Lanvin’s A/W 2016 collection with a romantic twist. Their dramatic presence was reassuring, given that Elie Top’s costume jewellery tenure at Lanvin has been so closely linked to Alber Elbaz, who famously left Lanvin in October 2015. We’re hoping there’s more gloriously excessive jewellery still to come at Lanvin. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans