FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Swarovski taps 'new perspectives'

Swarovski taps 'new perspectives'

People no longer view 'Beauty' or 'Normalcy' the same way, the jeweller finds

LEE-ANNE CARTER is head of “trend intelligence” at jewellery firm Swarovski, so she knows that she’s talking about when she says perceptions of “beauty” are changing.
People are no longer so sure about what constitutes “normal”, she says, citing a nine-month study. 

Swarovski taps \'new perspectives\'
“The ageing and gender-liberation movements have empowered people to express who they are,” Carter believes. “The main trends used to be glamorous, romantic, progressive and classic, but with the world changing so rapidly, we seek to redefine ourselves and eradicate the outmoded structures of the past.
“So the trend theme for spring and summer next year will be ‘new perspectives’,” Carter said at a recent discussion on “crystal innovations” at the Sofitel Sukhumvit Hotel. 
She noted that Swarovski has always sought to capture the defining moods of the moment. It’s now beginning to produce crystal pieces that reflect a breakdown in former dividing lines – between luxury goods and street goods, natural and digital, male and female, and even between opposing belief systems. 
The jeweller has identified four trends it calls Gang Star, No Normal, Hacked Nature, and Spell Bound.
“Gang Star has no negative connotation to it,” Carter said. “It’s more about the urban landscape being in the throes of a street-style revolution, best summed up in the phrase ‘Keep it real’. 
“Inspired by the hip-hop, sporty culture, the look is expressed in bold gold statement pieces such as oversized charms dangling from chains.”
The Skull Flat Back is the perfect match for such edgier styles, and Crystal Iridescent Blue Pearls reflect the emerging gender-neutral, active-streetwear fusion.
“No Normal is about being gender-neutral, a huge crossover,” Carter said, citing a “value revolution”. 
Labels are being eradicated, hierarchies broken down and conventions challenged. “Anti-fashion” is the prevailing mood, with the focus on season-less, gender-less clothes. Previous categories are now too narrow to accommodate modern tastes. 
Space and colours appear warped, creating a futuristic optical illusion, Carter pointed out. The Chris Bangle Designer Edition, featuring tilted Chaton, Spike and Dice Fancy stones, can be a pendant centrepiece for rings or earrings or part of an elaborate futuristic textile design. 
The Square Family’s Pyramid, Square and Base Flat Back reflect fresh design principles of flexibility and modularity, offering endless ways to create mould-breaking surface effects. 
“The colours of crystal are more subdued,” she said. “They’re contrasting and don’t seem to go along, but they’re pulling together. That’s how gender is – fluid, not a rigid form anymore.”
“Hacked Nature” addresses how virtual reality has altered our perceptions, blending the real with the imaginary to stimulate the senses. But Mother Nature cannot be denied, so sustainability is at the core of the designs even as technology advances. 
“A merging of these two opposites is the natural progression, blending hyper-real synthetic colours and shapes with nature-inspired forms in ‘phygital’ designs – physical meeting digital,” Carter said.
Sensory experiences are heightened by the new Shimmer effect, blending a futuristic gleam with bold, crystalline “nature-tech” hues, and a new range of Shiny Lacquer effects that updates classic summer tones.
“‘Spell Bound’ expresses people’s fears of the future,” she said. “They sometime rely on horoscopes, tarot readings and so on. These crystals shine as if made through alchemy, and the pieces become talismans.”
A sliver of colour, neither gold nor silver but ethereally metallic, adds spiritual significance. Unable to see a brighter future, society is turning away from organised belief systems towards rituals and shamanism. Mystical symbols with a dark, baroque opulence emerge from the shadows. 
The stardust shimmer of Crystal Galuchat’s scaly surface is unlike anything else, with tiny orbs of various magnitudes that appear black and then suddenly white. The Baroque Bead pays homage to the grandeur of history with its sublime crystal detailing, while the Baroque Mirror Fancy Stone provides a new format for historical designs.
Swarovski taps \'new perspectives\'  

Ek strings a garland of crystals
THE NATION

EK THONGPRASERT, founder and designer of the Curated label, has come up with a notion for Swarovski called “Phuang Malai”.
He says it represents an object that’s typically seen as normal, but he’s twisted it using sophisticated laser-cutting in a whirl of acrylic orange, green and blue. 
“The method is as basic as string flower blossoms into a traditional garland,” Ek says. “Yet stringing crystals is much more complicated in terms of getting the colours and floral pattern right.” 
A designer who’s always thinking outside the box and always earning accolades around the world with the results, Ek notes that trend analysis is costly but extremely important. 
Designers can absorb the information gathered and interpret it in their work, adding personal twists to make the pieces even more intriguing.
 

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