Jewelry Business Guru by Cindy Edelstein

Accessories playing big at New York's Fashion Week -- Big pendants, chains and shoulder-dusting earrings abound

The New York fashion shows are nearly done and the vote is in for accessories.... the more the better.

Reuters fashion writer reports today:

"If you can't buy a new outfit, you'll spend on a statement necklace or stacked bracelets," said Nina Garcia, fashion director at Marie Claire who is known for her role as a judge on Bravo television's "Project Runway."

"It's an immediate fix" that suits the fashion-conscious and budget-conscious consumer, she said.

So big are accessories for spring that scarcely a delicate piece or a bit of fine jewelry could be found, said Robert Burke of Robert Burke Associates, a luxury consulting company.

"We're not seeing anything small," he said. Instead, he added, "look for very signature items."   

Many in the fashion world see bold, chunky jewelry as the new 'it' bag, said Judy Licht, a television co-host of Full Frontal Fashion.

Designer Nicole Miller's long swinging necklaces, which hung well below the waist, were decorated with amulets evocative of voodoo, which the designer said was an inspiration for her spring collection. Australian designer Tony Cohen's models also wore long gold chains.

Where once the dress was a woman's fashion staple, the accessory has moved in and taken over, said Stan Herman, former head of the Council of Fashion Designers of America whose designs sell on QVC television and online shopping site.

"This is an accessory time, no doubt about it," said Herman. "Accessories are where the money is."          read more of this article here.

           

Ethical Jewelry Handbook Now Available

Reflective Images, a designer jewelry firm, announces the free Ebook for the jewelry trade entitled:  THE ETHICAL JEWELRY HANDBOOK:  A Resource Guide for the jewelry sector wishing to adopt exceptional standards and radical transparency:  Fair, Responsible, Ecological (FRE) System.

The book provides articles and information for those in the jewelry sector wishing to be more ecologically and socially responsible in their business practices.  It is also a handbook which explains how any company can implement the FRE System, which offers customers a detailed insight into the supply chain, from the mine to the showroom, for all components of every finished piece of jewelry the company sells.

FRE empowers customers to make decisions based on a product’s: F= Fair labor; R= Social Responsibility and E=Ecological impact.  It’s an "open source" model, said Marc Choyt, President of Reflective Images and author of the work.  "If the Fair Labeling Organizations (FLO) are analogous to a closed operating system, such as Microsoft, our FRE system is analogous to Linux. Any jewelry company can make it their own,” said Choyt.

Marc Choyt writes about ethical jewelry issues at www.fairjewelry.org/. 

Handmade at NYGift Show - designer report

Traffic at the Handmade section of the NY Gift Show was slower than last year, said many, but the popular designer lines still had a good show.

And we had fun visiting with so many great friends.

Trends spotted at the show:

GREEN Jewelry is gaining a real toehold in our industry (see early post on Fair Jewelry Summit) and the latest to take the concept and run with it was Cynthia Gale of GeoArt. Her new Go Green campaign was attracting a lot of attention.
That's Cynthia on the right.                         

Another great green initiative is Julie Bergstein's (on the left) new locket collection for her eponymous line Just Jules. She combines vintage lockets, watch fobs and other trinkets with pearls and beads and chain to create contemporary keepsakes. She told us that she sold out by the second day -- she's on the hunt for more vintage lockets so if you see any/have any to sell -- email her from her website at www.justjules.com.

Stephen Estelle saw a great interest in his vermeil collection. His rationale? "They're simultaneously selling down with the economy (from the karat gold line) while feeling like you're keeping up because it's gold and not silver," said Stephen. Great understanding of the marketplace.

 

 

here's Suzanne Vaughan of Ann Sportun looking as cool and graceful as the jewels!

Can you see the size of those baroque pearls in front of her! To die for!

Over at Somer's Jewelry owner at Hilary Randolph told us that her gold WAS selling better than expected -- considering she's predominently a silver line this was surprising news indeed.

While at the Ann Sportun/Experimetal booth they were getting some traction for their diamond designs. These reports gave us hope that the year won't be as bad as we keep fearing it could be!

De Beers cuts U.S. marketing budget

De Beers is cutting its U.S. marketing budget.  Sally Morrison of the Diamond Information Center (De Beer's US marketing arm) confirmed to National Jeweler that the cutbacks are related to the perception that the United States is headed into a recession, and that 2008 is expected to be a tough year for everyone.

The news is the latest in a string of bad news for the jewelry industry as a whole, as De Beers always has been known for its robust advertising campaigns. The DIC intends to offset the reduced advertising with more PR -- TIP: that could be good news for you if you've got innovative diamond designs that they can promote in publicity campaigns.

Where are Trends Born?

Today on our email discussion group (if you're not already on it send a blank email to [email protected]) someone asked "How, and by whom, are seasonal jewelry trends started?  What are the top publications that jewelry designers consult regarding trends?"

I think there isn't one simple answer -- it's in the air.

Fashionable people seem to feel the wind a changin' when it's time to go from short to long or big to tiny. There's the fashion bell curve of acceptance and the early adopters are way at the beginning, the mass of the folks on the curve - and those poor schleppers at the other end of the curve so hopelessly out-of-touch.

Or is that right before the NEXT curve begins? Most trends are cyclical and in reaction to the previous one.

There's an economics to it for sure; once everyone has more skinny jeans than they can wear in a week  -- boom! Bell bottoms are back. Seen the last month's fashion magazines with HIGH WAISTED and wide cuffed jeans????? Well, we can't have those early bell curvers looking like the late curvers, can we? We have to be able to tell fashionistas from Ugly Betty's right???

Trend forecasting services are big business in the fashion world -- trends don't change as much in fine jewelry -- but if you'd like to keep up on the forecasts here's a handy chart that will link you to all the great trend forecasting services.   

And if you want to read a good trend blog -- I've found this one.

And of course, reading fashion magazines is essential to staying in the zeitgiest -- Vogue, Elle, InStyle, Lucky, W, WWD, Marie Claire, Bazaar..... European magazines, too. I've found the best subscription rates at www.netmagazines.com and Below Wholesale Magazines at 800-800-0062.

Where do you read about trends????