Style
06 February 2020
Men in finery
Men have never worn as much jewelry as in the latest fall-winter 2020/21 men’s fashion shows.
The DIY trend
Men seem to have concocted their own jewelry out of a chaotic, rattling accumulation of motley elements. Vintage signet rings form a necklace at Sacaï, tangled necklaces by White Mountaineering, long chains from which keys, snap hooks, safety pins and beer bottle caps hang at Christian Dior. They also hang from a scarf. What a cacophony!
Nonchalance
Men don’t just wear a ring or a necklace carefully placed on their shirt. They stagger, scatter, and layer their jewelry. Ann Demeulemeester distributes undulating Virginia creeper and oak leaves are all over her jacket. Gucci places the pointed breastplate at an angle. It also forms an integral part of layering – a trend that consists of multiplying layers of clothing: heavy sweaters, mountain jackets and jackets – something at which the Japanese designer at Sacai, Chitose Abe, excels.
As it should be
The precept that men would only wear a watch and cufflinks has outlived its purpose. And that is just as it should be, as men “were very much bedecked in finery until the beginning of the 19th century: just look at Louis XIV and the maharajahs staggering under the weight of precious stones”, explains Gislain Aucremanne, professor at The School of Jewelry Arts, as he prepares his latest lecture “Men’s Jewelry: Signs and Insignia”. Not to be missed. Register here.
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