Swarovski has got it going on for Fall/Winter 2009. Think about a most bountiful, beautiful, and often-times seductive and sexed-up array of generously encrusted crystal jewelry, handbags, watches and the like, all of which debuted at the company’s recent event in an airy, spacious, flower-and-tree-laden, penthouse space in NYC, and you will get the point intended.
Going under the aptly named theme of “Nature Reloaded”, every collection here, from the gigantic and haute couture to the prettified and pret-a-porter, made its own definitive statement for the type of big style, big glam and lollapalooza effect, which so very many Red Carpet celebs and real people, too, have come to love and look forward to from Swarovski over the years.
First on the docket came the ultra pricey, say-it-loud and never low-key Daniel Swarovski collection, which is celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2009. This is a serious, ultra-glam grouping, which under the creative guidance of Rosemarie Le Gallais and the artistic direction of Nathalie Colin, showcases 20 heavy-duty handbags (precious little clutches and evening styles), 20 super-shiny pieces of jewelry (huge cocktail rings and over-the-top necklaces), and a gaggle of covetable watches, many rendered in true, old-world, dressmaker details of woven, lace and braided effects.
The pieces work generally due to the fact that mostly everything here possesses a strong form of art deco noblesse oblige, in terms of requisite shapeliness, form, design creativity and workmanship. Most noticeable and most true to the couture feeling of Daniel Swarovski, though, is the overall black, gold and silver color pallette, used across the line. While it is summarily expected that chic colors such as these would be chosen for the collection, it is also obvious that the use of other colors, such as brights or mixtures of one-off tones, might have made the pieces appear too garish and cheap, which surely was never what Daniel Swarovski had in mind for any of his pieces, beginning with the first collection back in 1989.
Moving on to the main Swarovski pieces, Nathalie Colin re-addresses nature, while taking a hard look at several strange and enchanted stories, such as “Reptile Tectonic”, “Hypnosis”, “Purple Blossom” and “Enchanted Microcosm”. Moving into netherworlds such as eclectic geometry, hypno florals, and dreamy worlds, individual groupings tell their particular story by way of jewelry and accessories, worked around a cool mix of seductive crystals and an eclectic color story of lovely pales, richest goldens and shimmery darks. All in all, who cares if scary snakes and plumped-up stones are the order of the day? In the end, just about everything that Swarovski is serving up is all good and good enough to be voluptuous and covetable.
One of the more memorable parts of the Swarovski line is the fun, whimsical and fantastical “Enchanted Microcosm” section. This grouping stays in the viewer’s mind, simply because the pieces play around a magical kind of forest and fairy story, which, for the most part, does not take itself too seriously. Of special note here is the return of the thoroughly joyful and multi-colorful “Elvis”, “Erika” and Bat” and “Cat” characters, seen this time around, popping up across an array of “insect” and “butterly” pendants, as well as “good luck charm” cell phone accessories.
While the Daniel Swarovski and Swarovski collections in their entirety do a nice job of presenting their “Nature Reloaded” stories, each in their own different ways, it is true that the lion’s share of each collection ties together well. And that is the way jewelry and accessory collections are supposed to work, especially when considering the fact there really is something for just about every jewelry lover in each line.
Obviously, Daniel Swarovski’s big, showy, extravagent baubles, which break in August 2009 at four of the company’s American boutiques, are never for the faint of heart, and that is totally cool. On the other side of the coin, the more accessible, affordable and generally more wearable Swarovski pieces have their place for those who may not necessarily be or might never have the desire to be, the debutante, celebutante or “It” girl of the moment. Available also in August, this part of the line will be in all of the company’s stores and online at www.swarovski.com.
– Adrienne Weinfeld-Berg
I am really impressed year by year of how they’ve been quite creative with their collection.
The designs and styles are unique and refreshing. Quite unexpected which I think will help them find a younger audience as well.