Designers stick their necklaces out

Finola Hughes of How Do I Look? fame says both minimal and overstated jewelry will be appropriate accessory choices for this fall's ladylike looks.

Fashion is indicative of the times, and with the headlines portending a tough year ahead, expect a departure from the predominant baby-doll look and a return to grown-up chic next autumn.

Designers tapped into their serious side, sending sleek silhouettes down the catwalks at 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. This doesn't mean all-black looks (although it can), but rather the polished appearances that dark tones tend to imply, with purple hues infiltrating many of the collections.

Still, bow-accented necklines, fur flourishes and ruffles all managed to survive the more somber takes on clothing.

Although jewelry merely played a supporting role, at most, on the catwalks, big "statement necklaces" held their own at the Feb. 1-8 event, with models frequently sashaying down the runways in major neckware. Other top trends included drop earrings, chain necklaces and bracelets.

Finola Hughes, host of The Style Network's How Do I Look?, says a return to more ladylike apparel with slender silhouettes was a strong theme at Fashion Week.

"The waist is coming back," Hughes says.

As for jewelry, Hughes observed it came in one of two ways at the shows: minimal or large and overstated.

She says both looks are interesting, and the minimal, personalized-charm look specifically lends itself to the emerging ladylike trend.

Helena Krodel, associate director of media for the Jewelry Information Center, says it was one of the better years for fine jewelry on the runways of Fashion Week.

When it comes to apparel, Krodel says, designers are moving away from the cutesy baby-doll look in favor of more sophisticated fare, in shades of blue, burnt orange, purple, green, brown and red. For jewelry, this translates to the use of opaque stones such as topaz, malachite, jade, jet, onyx and tiger's eye.

Necklaces carried a lot of importance, with U- and V-shaped versions making repeat appearances, Krodel says. One extreme example was a highly structured necklace that resembled a breastplate and was accented with dangling rectangular- and oval-shaped pendants. But multistrand necklaces dominated the runways too, ranging from Victorian styles (think white metals paired with diamonds), to those achieving an ombré effect or confetti-style mixes, with gemstones in various grades of color, Krodel says.

Even if designers kept their models necklace-free, many incorporated bows into the necklines.

"There's a lot of attention around the neck, no matter what," says Krodel, who also noted layered cuffs and brooch trends.

When it came to playing up the neckline, no one could compete with Badgley Mischka, which sent many of its models down the runway in layered necklaces or big, bold pendants. The designer also chose dangling earrings and bracelets as it channeled high-glam and day-in-the-woods, hunting-type aesthetics in many of its looks.

Though some of the jewelry was costume, Badgley Mischka teamed up with jewelry manufacturer Zalemark for several fine-jewelry pieces and also made some of its own.

Anna Sui chose to use bold accessories to complement her fall collection, with the most notable piece resembling a large, bold flower attached to a choker.

Marc Jacobs sent several of his models down the runway sporting cuffs on each wrist.

Vera Wang blew the runways away with jewelry too, playing up statement necklaces especially, as well as bold cuffs and braided rhinestone necklaces by Philip Crangi for Vera Wang.

A model wears an oatmeal-colored, knee-length, touch-shoulder dress with silver fox fur by Venexiana, paired with high-karat gold cuff bracelets by Gurhan and Coomi at Venexiana's Fall/Winter runway show at 2008 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York City. Photo: Jonas Gustavsson, courtesy of the World Gold Council and Venexiana.

3.1 phillip lim's show also sent unusual, bold necklaces on multiple trips down the catwalk.

Other designers opted for delicacy, with Jason Wu, Jonathan Saunders Rag and Bone and Carlos Miele going the more subdued route, sending a few long necklaces, pendants and bracelets down the plank.

Venexiana's Fall/Winter 2008 show shined with models sporting high-end gold jewelry designs, with cuffs and link bracelets foremost among the pieces by Angélique De Paris, Carla Amorim, Coomi, Cynthia Gregg, Doris Panos, Gurhan, Henry Dunay, K. Brunini, Mahlia Collection, Maya Jewels, Mehr-Un-Nissa, Oro Vi for Gold Expressions and Rezzadore for Gold Expressions.
Source: nationaljewelernetwork