Armoured in gems

The crystal masters-turned-clothing designers at Swarovski boosted Singapore’s ambition to become Asia’s primary style hub earlier this month with glitzy show at the Audi Fashion Festival as part of the Asia Fashion Exchange. French labels Zac Posen and Roland Mouret also took part.
Having premiered its first line of togs at Paris Fashion Week in February, Swarovski presented an autumn-winter collection in Singapore, its designated regional base, with aims to seize the Asian market.
The visual feast was augmented by a rock mini-concert on the runway that was in perfect harmony with the “rock and baroque muse” theme of the Kingdom of Jewels collection by Swarovski’s creative director, Nathalie Colin.
While a rock band played, dozens of models paraded in modern costumes and jewellery, beginning with sexy, sharp cocktail dresses in red and black with big matching necklaces and bracelets. Clearly, though, for Swarovski it’s the clothes that come second to the ornamentation.
The highlight was jewelled medieval-style
 shoulder set, a leather-and-crystal plastron that any knight of the Round Table would have killed for. It was enhanced with triangular motifs and embroidered with 12,000 stones.
Another cool rock-style item for the shoulders was the “Denim Blue” Crystal Mesh, with its jewellery linked to a graphic chatonage collar, and round stones and pearls set on crystal mesh.
Colin got even more theatrical with a stunning corset belt of Hematitte leather, the product of 60 hours of embroidering and utilising 5,000 stones, including crystals, amethyst and fuschia pearls. The necklace paired with it was intertwined tubes of crystal mesh inlaid with a multitude of sequins and florets, ending with a cascade of chains and jet and satin tones.
The music grew more upbeat for a journey into the future, model in evening gowns emblazoned with galactic prints. Another shoulder set, the “Stardust Galaxy”, entailed 150,000 stones and had a central motif combining a quartz rutile tourmaline and Bermuda Blur crystal star.
“I wanted to conjure up a muse who portrays a ‘rock chick’,” Colin said, “turning traditional ideas and values upside down by giving them her own personal twists.”
Inspired by electronic rock, her large triangular jewellery pieces used rubies, emeralds and sapphires whose colours lit up the dark tones of the clothing.
Colin selected French actress Berenice Marlohe – the latest “Bond girl” from the new 007 film “SkyFall” as the face of Swarovski, and put her to work last week at the Cannes Film Festival.
Swarovski also presented a men’s collection that delved into rock ’n’ roll horror, with plenty of skulls in the form of pendants on black stones, cufflinks, key rings, finger rings and bracelets.
And, not just for the catwalk or red carpet, the Kingdom of Jewels collection also features smaller pieces, including a cute Hello Kitty line that looks fun to mix and match.