Redundancy versus minimalism: How the fashion for jewelry changes
The jewelry industry is two worlds which do not overlap. The first one is jewelry houses with a history known for their contracts with Hollywood divas, unique exhibitions (both dedicated to a certain brand and collective ones, like "high jewelry art exhibitions" held twice a year) and objects with rare stones or incredibly cleverly cut. The second is local small companies, young designers and new names. It is they who more quickly react to or create trendy trends; they are of the greatest interest today. But if in the West it is difficult not to notice the emergence of a wave of new brands that rely on elaborate and subcultural adornments, then in Russia for several years minimalism has reigned, which will not go away in the near future. We understand how attitudes to rings, earrings, necklaces and bracelets are changing in Russia and the world.
↑ Jiwinaia
Thick chains, Yin and Yang badges, an alien head image, down, rhinestones - young progressive brands use all the elements of various subcultures: from R'n'B, whose global return is here and now, to punk. A new generation of jewelry designers is also voting for the blurring of gender boundaries - and quite defiantly.
Take Ambush, for example, the Japanese brand created by rap singer Verbal and his wife Yoon. Among their fans are Kanye West and K-pop stars like CL and G-Dragon, and in the portfolio only very serious collaborations with Sacai, Louis Vuitton and Undercover. Ambush is aimed at world expansion, and publications like Dazed do their best to help. At the same time, the concept of the brand is adornment for everyone: "Asian men prefer an experimental style, they are not afraid to look pampered because ideals of masculinity are not under such pressure; therefore, they are ready to play with decorations," Yoon said in an interview. It seems that they are ready to experiment with decorations in the West too - their products easily fit into the alternative French magazine Masses and the flagship of the “new masculinity” Fantastic Man. The summer collection can somehow remind the Vivienne Westwood archives, reworked in a new way: complex chains for the whole body, brass knuckles, chokers and earrings in the form of ordinary locks, massive bracelets and key pendants.
And if Ambush is already a small empire (in addition to jewelry, the brand also makes clothes), then the Korean designer Marisa Jivi Sok and the founder of the Jiwinaia brand, who lives in Milan, are just beginning their journey - but loudly. Vogue already writes about it and VFiles sells it. The chokers, studded with artificial diamonds, are inspired by hip-hop singers from the 90s, and massive earrings and enamel necklaces - vintage cartoons. Both those and others are extremely difficult not to notice in the crowd. The same thing happens with Annelise Michelson, whose heavy bracelets, razor chokers and jagged rings are loved by pop stars like Rihanna and Lady Gaga. You can buy these in several large online stores like Farfetch.
↑ Ambush
About the self-taught jeweler We already wrote about Tongtai, the founder of the brand name from Bangkok. Her playful jewelry, with lots of artificial crystals, pearls, and the use of non-standard materials like fur, are flashy, on the verge of bad taste, very impressive. But the fate of such jewelry in Russia, unfortunately, live out in Kuznetsky Most 20 to the latest discounts. And this is understandable, if we look back at our tradition of treating jewelry either as expensive, “out-of-date” and “adult” accessories, or as an ethnic “body kit”, or as consumer goods from the transition.
That is why the new generation of Russian buyers is inclined to elegant or harsh minimalism in the spirit of COS: if you wear bracelets and rings every day, then it is desirable to have “basic”, delicate and neutral, without the above-mentioned connotations. Too much has passed on us the rink style of "dashing zero": many admit that they still remember this time and the trend for "expensive-rich" with a shudder or contempt. Together with leopard prints, velor tracksuits, caps, low waist corsets and jeans and other attributes of the “beautiful life”, the love for massive pendants, huge artificial diamonds, noticeable crosses and color plastic has gone.
All this is sold now, but it is considered a sign of bad taste: it is not easy to find interesting samples, it is even more difficult to beat them, so it’s much more comfortable not to take risks. The lack of confidence in their styling skills, along with the aggression of the society, which dictates the desire to be more invisible, makes us either completely abandon jewelry, or wear something laconic, simple, not causing unnecessary questions and sidelong glances.
Another explanation is, let's get it straight, in price. It seems unreasonable to buy large, complex jewelery made of semi-precious metals - as a result, the segment of expressive costume jewelery worth “above average” is the most difficult to sell. Thought: "How can you pay so much for ordinary jewelry, without stones and gold?" - natural for the world, where the "status" ring or brooch is perceived as an investment. So instead of a single expensive jewelry that you don’t sell if that, buyers tend to choose a lot cheaper.
↑ anotheronejewellery
Just a few years ago, small stamps of “local” jewelery began to appear in Russia, at the same time the Moscow store “Sugar” started, gathering several notable young jewelers in one place. Add to this the boom of Instagram trading, a platform on which it has become so easy to beautifully represent small laconic earrings and rings. The most worthy survived, more and more new began to join them.
The heroes of today are Himère, anna.m.objects, Bluebox, Anima, Natalia Bryantseva, 48, anotheronejewellery. And all are unique, interesting in their own way, we have already written about many of them or included their things in the shooting. It's nice to see that the best are still afloat and thriving: local designers always have to face a lot of difficulties, as each “New Brand” character says. But, perhaps, jewelry designers and jewelery designers, who have chosen the minimalist direction, are amazingly lucky. They really were in the right place at the right time. This is a big wave, and it is not going to subside. On the contrary - the number of fans of these brands in the same instagrame grows every day.
Of course, the laconic design and simple decorations are not exclusively Russian specificity - this is a big world trend that has and will have its loyal adherents. But in parallel with it, a new one appears - a fashion for fancy ornaments, visible from afar. All these newbies like Annelise Michelson are just the beginning, but this wave has not yet reached Russia. And the point is not that our “minimalist” designers have occupied the market. There is enough space for choice and alternative, it’s a pity that it does not exist yet. It remains to wait for those who mature - from both the supply and demand side.
Photo: Jiwinaia, Ambush, anotheronejewellery
