Kenem Bijoux Blog – Metal Clays and Art

Front-of-book ads in the September issues of  ogue, Harper’s Bazaar, W, Glamour, InStyle and Elle spotlight designers David Yurman, Michael Kors, Diane von Furstenberg and Donna Karan with models decked out in metal-only designs.

In David Yurman’s ad, a model wears the designer’s collar-skimming cable-chain necklace, while a second page shows a model donning simply his braided gold bracelet.

The creative at Donna Karan presents jewelry wardrobing that’s just as stark, with a model wearing a statement necklace crafted of multiple silver spheres from designer Robert Lee Morris.

Editors also brought attention to sculptural metal jewelry as well as classically elegant 40s-style pieces in the form of collar-circling necklaces paired with brooches and understated earrings.

Editors at Harper’s Bazaar pointed out the season’s edgy attitude by saying, “In a season of urban armor, the easiest pieces are the toughest looking. Fall’s must-have hardware, however, is the cuff–like those Nicolas Ghesquiere did in gold and silver for Balenciaga. Wearing one of them puts all the elements at hand to complete a look. Slip on two and consider yourself both adorned and armed.”

Editors at Elle appeared to concur, with stylists decking their models out in single cuffs as well as gold bangles stacked statement-style to the elbow. And at Glamour, editors advocated recycling old fall clothes via jewelry, pointing out that throwing on one of the season’s cuffs could make a little black dress seem like new.

Vogue, weighing in at 584 pages, didn’t spotlight jewelry until nearly 500 pages in, with cover girl Charlize Theron showing up bauble-free. When jewelry made its appearance though, it was attention-grabbing. Stylists dressed actress Eva Mendes in bangles piled to mid-arm, while models in an editorial on fall coats wore collar-style necklaces, bib-style necklaces paired with chains, and smooth mirror-like bangles on both wrists.

While gemstones didn’t appear to get the greatest amount of play in the magazines, editors at InStyle were fans of citrine and smoky quartz, stones featuring earthy hues prime for pairing with fall’s palette of mustard yellows, deep browns and greens.

Perhaps not surprisingly, given the prevalence of 1940s-style fashions (the counterpart to the season’s edgy, tough fashions), pearls were a pervasive find. While the consumer magazines tended to show a variety of glass and faux versions, Lucky advised readers to stick to the genuine thing, saying, “There is a wealth of great costume jewelry out there, which means you don’t have to splurge on the real thing. That said, skip the faux pearls. They tend to peel and show their age.”

Stylists at W layered long strands and spotlighted chains with pearl stations, while editors for Vogue accessorized models in a 40s spread with short single strands and pearl studs. Ears, while largely ignored, got plenty of attention in this spread, with editors showing a wealth of studs and short, lobe-hugging versions.