When you’ve been studying my options right here for some time, I’ve just a few pet peeves on the subject of costume jewellery terminology. It’s not only a matter of being a stickler as a vendor; I additionally recognize the eye to element as a purchaser. I touched on one usually misused phrase in 3 Earmarks of “Excessive-end” Costume Jewellery. I’ll get to a different hot-button time period, “Gripoix,” in one other function. For now, I’m specializing in one which ought to be self-explanatory however apparently isn’t. I’m speaking about “runway.”
Whereas some jewellery is marketed as “high-end,” solely a fraction actually qualifies. Likewise, items labeled as “runway” designs hardly ever match this customary. Some folks appear to suppose that any massive, eye-catching necklace deserves this distinction. However actually, until jewellery was made for a vogue present, it doesn’t qualify. Name it an announcement necklace, however don’t name it runway.
The underside line is that utilizing “runway” to outline jewellery is a advertising and marketing ploy that basically doesn’t have any enamel. It makes a vendor appear to be they both don’t know what an actual piece of runway jewellery is, or that they don’t care and can say something to draw consideration to their on-line listings. With that mentioned, let’s take a look at what makes a bit of jewellery a runway design.
Haute Couture Jewellery
Understanding runway jewellery requires delving into high fashion adornment. One in every of my favourite books on the subject of studying about the sort of accent is Costume Jewellery for Haute Couture by Florence Muller. As a aspect be aware, this guide is now on my listing of tomes to observe for as a collectible since it may be fairly costly as an out-of-print title. When you occur upon an property sale of a jewellery collector, make sure you take a look at the books on jewellery of their stash for potential bargains.
Now, again to the haute adornment worn by runway fashions. These items of jewellery had been generally one-of-a-kind creations or made in multiples of just some. They had been ordered by all the most important names in vogue, from Chanel to Schiaparelli and Balenciaga to Dior. A particular sort of jewellery producer (referred to as a parurier in French) was liable for these creations. The jewellery items they made for European couture homes comprise the majority of what’s thought-about runway jewellery within the classic market. Most of the items are massive and showy, as they wanted to be to command consideration on the catwalk whereas complementing the clothes.
Names that fall into this class embody Roger Scémama, Roger Jean-Pierre, Robert Goosens, and Maison Gripoix, however there have been many others. At instances, they had been commissioned to provide jewellery to accompany a selected frock, however usually they made collections of jewellery that had been shopped by completely different couture homes.
Runway jewellery is distinct as a result of it was not mass-produced; as a substitute, it was meticulously handcrafted in restricted portions, making it uncommon. This rarity is among the primary the reason why labeling all the pieces as “runway” undermines the real essence of designs created from the Nineteen Thirties to the Nineteen Sixties. Collectors of the best costume jewellery acknowledge and worth this uniqueness right this moment.
Even later, after the golden years of the parurier had handed, acquainted names like Iradj Moini created runway jewellery for Oscar de la Renta. Lawrence Vrba, former head designer for Miriam Haskell, has been recognized to outfit Victoria’s Secret vogue reveals as properly. A number of different designers have made singular, eye-catching items for catwalk use, too. It’s nonetheless uncommon to have the possibility to personal these right this moment.
Figuring out Runway Jewellery
There can be many instances that you simply run throughout a bit of jewellery that’s arduous to determine. You’ll search excessive and low on-line and never discover one other one prefer it. Does that imply it was made for the runway? Most likely not. Extra seemingly, it was from a group of mainstream jewellery that simply didn’t promote very properly, and never many have survived over time. It is a lesson I realized speaking with Vrba a number of years in the past. Typically issues we deem “uncommon” didn’t promote properly again within the day, so only a few examples exist now.
When you’re fortunate sufficient to amass a bit of jewellery made for the runway, nevertheless, it would seemingly have its personal distinctive traits. Along with not being simple to determine, it could have earmarks of hand craftsmanship moderately than being machine-made. Poured glass, handmade beads, and hand-wired parts can all be current in the sort of jewellery. Some are marked solely deposé (a French time period for patented or registered) and are sometimes related to Roger Jean-Pierre. Nonetheless, a research of development methods is important earlier than making that assumption. With some diligent analysis, sometimes, you may even have the nice fortune to discover a vogue present photograph to help a declare that what you’ve gotten is a runway design.
Don’t be confused, nevertheless, by journal photoshoots the place objects made to promote at retail are used to adorn fashions. Some French vogue pubs within the ‘50s used jewellery from the paruriers, however many American magazines present jewellery obtainable to customers by upscale retailers.
Prepared-to-Put on Jewellery by Paruriers and Couture Homes
A number of the confusion about what runway jewellery is stems from the truth that a few of the jewellery workshops that made jewellery for the couture homes additionally made ready-to-wear strains. Varied couture homes additionally licensed their names to mass-produced jewellery strains in some circumstances.
For example, Coppola e Toppo designed for Schiaparelli and Valentino, however the Italian agency additionally marketed many items of jewellery below their very own model. Roger Mannequin and Lionel de Grand designed for Hubert de Givenchy’s vogue reveals, however ultimately, Givenchy jewellery went mainstream and was bought in department shops. Even Moini and Vrba have produced head-turning strains of retail jewellery.
Are all these examples runway designs simply because they make a daring assertion? The reply is not any, whether or not they had been bought in additional restricted portions to boutique prospects or mass-marketed by department shops. These spectacular items may be tremendous excessive in high quality, very collectible, and convey good sums within the collector’s market, however they’re nonetheless not runway jewellery.
Pamela Siegel is a contract author and writer who has been educating collectors for greater than twenty years. Along with three books on subjects referring to antiques and collectibles, she ceaselessly shares her experience by on-line writing and articles for print-based publications. Pamela can also be the co-founder of Costume Jewellery Collectors Int’l (CJCI) and the proprietor of Stylish Antiques by Pamela.
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