For astute jewelry watchers, the first thing the word “couture” conjures has nothing to do with Paris runways populated by models wearing six-figure dresses.
For anyone infatuated with diamonds, platinum and gold, The Couture Show (with a capital C, of course) can only mean the annual, invitation-only Las Vegas event that features the work of hundreds of groundbreaking jewelry designers. Brands, editors, buyers and tastemakers with an appetite for gems convene in the desert to swap notes and see the best and brightest new collections before they hit stores. The trends that happen in Vegas don’t stay there. They’re bound for boutiques and jewelry boxes the world over.
A must-see stop for every visitor is a zone dedicated to emerging designers – and the newcomers made strong impressions at first sight.
Zahn-Z, the brand from architecture student-turned-jewelry designer Hiba Husayni, has an instant hit on her head with her Zaha collection. The stars of the show were curvaceous bands with an elongated U-shaped face – the perfect platform for a diamond solitaire or pavé-set stones. The rings make for ultra-cool engagement rings or anytime adornments. Zahn-Z also took home a Couture Design Award for the design.
Julie Kim of the brand Bijules is in the midst of a breakthrough after more than two decades of designing. She took advantage of her Couture debut to show off her range, from sculptural home goods to hand bracelets studded with gems or bolo ties that transform into brooches. One of her signature styles, solid gold rings set with diamonds that slip over the fingertips and mimic an especially precious manicure, was a standout. Beyoncé is already a fan!
Art Deco emerged 100 years ago and its elegant geometry and intelligent proportions still inspire. The movement was the shared point of reference for Jany Marcelle founders Caroline Hadida and Julie Gabison, two friends with radically different professional backgrounds – one a lawyer, the other a fashion designer.
Their work takes cues from century-old motifs and themes and then filters them through a 21st-century sensibility to create jewels with supple, rounded lines that hug the body. Standouts are the gold Equation bracelet, dotted with an undulating row of diamonds, and the Jackie ring, with a spiraling loop of diamonds in marquise shapes.
The Meridian collection from new guard designer JV Insardi delivers an uplifting message in a combination of gold, diamonds and onyx. A compass-like arrow motif is meant to encourage wearers “to trust their journey” without second-guessing themselves, according to founder Jen Insardi.
At OX, a meticulously constructed line from sister-brother duo Jessica and Michael Busiashvili, the hourglass shape links the foundation of every piece. The brand upends the look of traditional silhouettes like tennis bracelets and rivières with an original point of view. A long length of their patented diamond-set links with hooks at either end loops into ear piercings and drapes in front of the neck to make an unconventional earring-necklace hybrid. The pair behind Vice Versa introduced the prettiest tennis necklaces in curved gold links, a diamond tucked into each, and diamond-set charm holders.
Natural diamond charms and pendants of every size and description – and coordinating necklaces to dangle them from –were one of Couture’s must-have trends, just right for a season of open necklines and bare shoulders.
At Istanbul-based Aponïne, a flexible collar in white gold wire supported a whimsical puffed white diamond heart with almost-blinding brilliance; the look is the height of day-to-night dopamine dressing. Khepri makes diamond pendants modern and modular; designer Reema Chopra crafts them from fancy cut diamonds, ranging in color from white to cognac or sunshine yellow, on strands that can easily accommodate one pendant or ten times as many, allowing clients to add to or change their necklaces over time.
For a vintage-inspired twist on the trend, the two fashion stylists who founded the brand Studio 24 jewelry looked to pocket watch chains as inspiration for their necklaces, which clip onto their solitaire diamond pendants. The collection has the appearance of treasured heirlooms from Day One.
Short and sweet necklaces are gaining momentum when it comes to diamonds for dressing up. Clavicle caressing tennis necklaces, collars and rivières have been rediscovered, and designers are catering to clients looking for clever spins on the classic styles.
The 150-year-old Beirut-based jewelry brand George Hakim offered a spellbinding collar in mixed cut diamonds: pear, marquise, round and emerald shapes. It’s a technical feat that looks regal. At Shelley & Co., a rivière set with rose cut diamonds, a technique that’s centuries old, has a soft, romantic glow that is uncommon in contemporary jewels.
Words by Tanya Dukes, an award-winning, New York-based jewelry writer, editor and stylist
