There are always little gems to discover among the fine and high jewellery presentations that fringe the annual Paris Couture schedule. Only this season's finds are already taking a more sizeable turn. Our very own editor at large, JJ Martin, was in town to celebrate the big, bold creations of Italian jeweller Ugo Correani (opens in new tab) and a new online collaboration between her eponymous La Double J (opens in new tab) vintage boutique and luxury fashion retailer MyTheresa.com (opens in new tab).
Launching today, Martin has collected, curated and even cherry picked from her own collection, a selection of magnificent vintage designs by the Italian jeweller exclusively for MyTheresa.com. Martin is not only offering those looking for a new costume jewellery aesthetic a fresh take, she is also bringing the life and work of a little-known jewellery great into the spotlight.
In the early 1970s, Correani made his name designing pieces for the Italian fashion designer Walter Albini (opens in new tab) before going on to create the high-fashion costume jewellery language that typified the collections of Lacroix and Versace in the 1980s and 1990s: big, organic forms in non-precious metals, textured finishes and carefree splashes of colour.
Perfectly proportioned for catwalk spectacles, Correani regularly collaborated with Gianni Versace, Valentino, and Christian Lacroix. Having started working with Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé, by 1983 he had designed the jewels for Lagerfeld's first Chanel haute couture show. In 1984, he collaborated with Versace, who was then designing costumes for productions at La Scala. Correani died in 1992, by which time the cool minimalism that stalked fashion banished his unfettered costume designs to the annals of fashion history, only to be picked up decades later by vintage seekers with discerning eyes such as Martin.
'From the moment I discovered Ugo Correani and his wild and wonderful jewellery, I have been completely obsessed,' says Martin. 'It looks nothing like anything else and the quality is excellent. I'm hoping that other women will fall in love with Ugo as deeply as I am.'
A selection of 20 big, bold Correani creations go onsale today on MyTheresa.com in addition to Martin's own eponymous boutique LaDoubleJ.com
Martin has collected, curated and even cherry picked from her own collection and is not only offering a fresh costume jewellery take, she is also bringing the life and work of a little-known jewellery great into the spotlight
In the early 1970s, Correani made his name designing pieces for the Italian fashion designer Walter Albini before going on to create the high-fashion costume jewellery language that typified the collections of Lacroix and Versace in the 1980s and 1990s
Perfectly proportioned for catwalk spectacles, Correani regularly collaborated with Gianni Versace, Valentino and Christian Lacroix
Having started working with Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé, by 1983 he had designed the jewels for Lagerfeld's first Chanel haute couture fashion show
Correani died in 1992, by which time the cool minimalism that stalked fashion banished his unfettered costume designs to the annals of fashion history, only to be picked up decades later by vintage seekers with discerning eyes such as Martin
Think big, organic forms in non-precious metals with textured finishes
'From the moment I discovered Ugo Correani and his wild and wonderful jewellery, I have been completely obsessed,' says Martin. 'It looks nothing like anything else and the quality is excellent. I'm hoping that other women will fall in love with Ugo as deeply as I am'
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