Jewellery heads to the kindergarten
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
When Carolina Bucci launched her Forte collection of make-your‑own beaded necklaces in 2018, the fourth-generation Florentine jeweller underestimated the impact it would have on sales. Starting at £1,100, a box of 80 rainbow-coloured beads in turquoise, rock crystal, amethyst and other semi-precious stones – each one carefully cut to slide over 18ct-gold-tipped Lurex cords – can be customised with white, yellow, black and rose gold and pavé studded pendants to form a necklace (bracelet boxes are £540). “During the pandemic we were shipping 50 to 60 FedEx packages of Forte Beads every day,” she says. “They went from near zero to around 35 per cent of our business. Since then, we have cut and sold hundreds of thousands of these hard-stone beads.”
Left: Ana Beatriz wears (on index finger) Rosa De La Cruz gold, iolite and pink sapphire ring, £2,725, gold, quartz and sapphire ring, £1,785, gold, quartz and citrine ring, £1,785, and (on ring finger) diamond Ebony Fish ring/pendant, £2,596. Hermès brass and horn Hermès sur Mer small bracelet, £830. Loro Piana hand-embroidered silk top, £12,800, and matching skirt, £21,500. Right: butterfly ranunculus “Lycia”. Throughout: all flowers from Marlston Farmgirl
Bucci’s embrace of kindergarten-style jewellery executed in luxurious materials chimes with fashion’s current playful impulse. At the SS25 collections, the Chloé girl accessorised sheer ruffled dresses with charm-laden chains and bags, Roberto Cavalli’s models flaunted giant, nautical-themed pendants, and Ralph Lauren indulged its carefree side with layers of jangly beads. On the streets, handbags are adorned with charms, ribbons and keyrings – a trend that harks back to the late Jane Birkin, whose Hermès bag was personalised with everything from trinkets to chains.
Left: butterfly ranunculus “Minoan”. Right: Dior Joaillerie white-gold, diamond and mother-of-pearl moon Rose de Vents earring, POA, white-gold Bois de Rose bangle, £7,700, rose-gold Bois de Rose bangle, £7,150, and gold Bois de Rose bangle (on left arm), £7,150, and gold, diamond and mother-of-pearl Rose de Vents ring, £6,600. Milne Watson glass, amber and pink opal carved bead chain (on right arm), £315, and custom-ade bead necklace (on upper right wrist), POA. Dior silk chiffon dress, £6,100
For West Sussex-based designer Emma Milne-Watson, the demand for more spirited accessories has launched a second career. The former fashion editor initially founded her eponymous line of colourful beaded necklaces in 2020 to raise money for domestic-abuse charity Refuge, selling pieces for £80 via Instagram. She’s since turned that initiative into a business (while the relationship with Refuge has ceased, Milne-Watson has donated almost £25,000 in jewellery sales to Save the Children since the start of the Ukraine war), and customers include Claudia Schiffer, Gwyneth Paltrow and Valentino’s creative director Alessandro Michele.
Left: Tiffany & Co rose-gold and diamond T1 ear cuff, £8,375, rose-gold and diamond Knot Double Row hinged bangle (top), £26,000, rose-gold Knot Double Row hinged bangle, £8,375, and T1 gold and diamond ring (on right hand), £7,600. Cassandra Goad gold and aquamarine Persephone ring (on left hand), £2,200, and gold and pearl Persephone ring, £3,200. Ulla Johnson fringed raffia dress, £2,080. Right: ranunculus Cloni Hanoi
Left: butterfly ranunculus “Minoan”. Right: Jessica McCormack pearl and diamond Beaches necklace, £5,000, with yellow sapphire and gold Fruit Salad Lemon Drop pendant, £7,000, and yellow-gold and blackened-white-gold, diamond and ruby Fruit Salad Cherries pendant, £18,000. G Collins gold and diamond necklace, £4,160. David Morris rose-gold, diamond and chrysoprase Fortuna large pendant necklace, £2,900. Chanel cashmere top, £1,495, and matching skirt, £1,745
In London, Jessica McCormack has expanded her diamond offering with a range of bedazzled beach- and fruit-themed pendants with a £3,000-plus price tag; in Paris, Messika has swapped fine chains for multicoloured leather straps. And Tiffany & Co’s Elsa Peretti Bean pendant remains a summer staple. The designs are part of a wider trend for embellishment, which also includes phone straps, sunglasses leashes and bag charms. Last summer, the shopping platform Lyst reported a 352 per cent month-on-month surge in demand on the latter, with styles from Anya Hindmarch, Miu Miu, Loewe and Hermès proving popular.
Left, from top: Louis Vuitton white-gold and diamond Ombre Blossom ear cuff, £3,150, rose-gold and diamond Ombre Blossom ear cuff, £2,300, gold, amazonite and diamond Color Blossom BB Star pendant necklace, £2,320, gold, onyx and diamond Color Blossom BB Star pendant necklace, £1,860, rose-gold and diamond Ombre Blossom pendant, £3,700, gold and diamond Le Damier necklace, £5,400, gold, onyx and diamond Color Blossom BB Sun bracelet, £1,960, gold and diamond Le Damier bracelet, £12,600, and gold and diamond Le Damier rings, £6,100 and £10,700. Messika leather My Move bracelet, £150, and natural titanium and diamonds motif, £1,090. Pragnell gold, sapphire and diamond ring (top on index finger), £7,250. Louis Vuitton polyamide/elastane jacquard bikini top, £500, and denim trousers, £1,260. Right: orange ranunculus
Carolina Bucci gold and semi-precious stone Forte Beads Moonbow necklace, £1,100, semi-precious stone bracelets (middle), £540 each, and gold and silk Lucky bracelets with Passion and Strength charms (right), £1,140 and £1,320. Van Cleef & Arpels gold and lapis lazuli Perlée Couleurs pendant necklace £1,950, and gold and sapphire bracelet (left), £29,700. Guess metallic-embroidered dress, £78
How to wear the trend now? For writer and influencer Leandra Medine Cohen, adding a juvenile accessory to a grown-up outfit creates a “striking tension”. “Pairing playful jewellery [beads or tassels] with formal clothes, a wool suit or even something black tie introduces a new dimension,” she says. Likewise, Lisbon-based content creator Vicky Montanari has amassed a million-strong Instagram following for her daily outfit videos in which some kind of bold accessory (usually a bag charm, which she has been collecting since she was a teenager) always features. “It’s really about experimenting and seeing how you feel when you step slightly outside your comfort zone,” she says. “You might just discover that your comfort zone is a lot bigger than you thought.”
Shot at Marlston Farmgirl, Berkshire. Model, Ana Beatriz at Next. Casting, Piergiorgio Del Moro and Helena Balladino at DM Casting. Hair and make-up, Liz Daxauer using Less is More for hair and Shiseido for make-up. Photographer’s assistants, Rob Palmer and Roy Hong. Stylist’s assistant, Giovanna Piergallini. Production, Town. Special thanks to Emma Woolley and Kimberly Fleming at Marlston Farmgirl
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