the earring effect While the fashion term ‘statement earrings’ has been bandied about for years, it’s recently taken on a whole new – and very cool – aesthetic. The world of fine jewellery has met punk chic style, and it’s oozing elegance.
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LAST YEAR FOR Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2020/2021 Haute Couture collection, the house unveiled a look inspired by an era that was perhaps a strange bedfellow for its fine jewellery: punk rock. The look, rooted in 1970s grunge with its dark style, body modification, and seemingly anti-social antics, is a fashion of subcultures and art movements, not investment earrings laden with flawless white diamonds. Fast-forward four decades, and now punk rock – it’s punk chic in today’s haute couture terms – translates in the fine jewellery world as feminine yet edgy. And very wearable too. In fact, Chanel described their collection as ‘romantic punk with a sophisticated twist’ (with ultra-luxe appeal of course). Candice Ilic is a personal stylist and also the managing director and partner at Verus Fine Jewellery. She believes the punk era not only never entirely left us, but also – way back – inspired the multiple piercing trend. ‘Fashion moves in cycles according to public stress, desires and emotions,’ she explains. ‘Some cycles are short and quick (like trendy fast fashion), and others are big, long evolutions.’ For Ilic, the multiple piercing trend –
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PHOTOGRAPHY SUPPLIED
WORDS HELEN CLEMSON
