Top NYFW Jewelry Trends to Put on Your Radar Now

As a sought-after fashion stylist and consultant for such clients as Badgley Mischka, Norma Kamali, and Genlux magazine, Juli Alvarez is one of the most provocative voices in fashion and accessories editorial (former staff positions include fashion editor of the late, great Modern Bride and beauty/fashion director of Colin Cowie Weddings). But the best way to get a handle on her unique point of view is through the accessories-centric blog Accessoteur. Informed by her 20-plus years as a legitimate fashion insider, Alvarez serves as the sole author and curator of the blog, her personal visual and verbal playground, where she highlights cutting-edge, new-now-next accessories of the highest order.

Which is precisely why I was keen to know what jewelry trends popped up on Alvarez’s shrewd radar during New York Fashion Week (the whirlwind of shows she’s been covering wraps tomorrow).

Leave it to Alvarez to champion designer Simone Rocha’s use of tooth-motif jewelry in a recent collection, or to an unearth an obscure designer of jewels that pay homage to Star Wars characters done in black and white diamonds.

Did the Fall 2017 collections turn up anything similarly radical that JCK readers should know about?

“Typically, the jewelry trend for Fashion Week is ‘no jewelry at all,’ ” says Alvarez. “Euro brands like Marni, Gucci, Prada, and Dries Van Noten have been accessorizing their runway shows with major statement pieces, but season after season, the New York runways have been virtually devoid of any type of jewelry as adornment. But little by little, glimpses of earrings, necklaces, and rings are trickling in, and this season it was refreshing to see designers incorporating baubles, both fine and faux.

“Because let’s face it: Women wear jewelry. They might not be wearing looks straight off the runway for a variety of reasons, but accessories are pretty much game on.”

And many in this audience couldn’t agree more. Here’s a sneak peek at Accessoteur’s findings—keep them in mind as you design new collections, or make decisions about what to buy this fall.

As reported by Juli Alvarez of Accessoteur

Trend 1:  A Touch of Modernism

Innovative, unexpected accessories—think bold and artsy—bring a focus to individualism and are defining a wholly modern take on wearing jewelry.

At Proenza Schouler, it was about decorating a bare arm for Fall 2017. High-shine and matte tubular cuffs wrapped forearms in a snug embrace, while mismatched metal bangles swung low and easy at the wrist. Contrasting materials and colors struck a quirky, oddball note and were worthy of a double take.
(Photos courtesy of Vogue)

Sisters Chloe and Parris Gordon of new Canadian fashion label Beaufille take their modernism seriously, but it’s always tempered by a wonderful sense of joy and wit. Their Fall 2017 collection embraced this point of view right through to the finishing touches—their namesake jewelry collection of wearable, timelessly modern pieces, including oversize disc earrings and pendant necklaces crafted in leopard agate.
(Photos courtesy of Beaufille)

Trend 2: Tough Girls
Girls rule. We can be tough, tender, and everything in between, but our accessories better have an edge worthy of Joan Jett…

Alexander Wang, a designer who built his brand around a young, cool chick who takes no prisoners dressed in head-to-toe black, accessorized his Fall 2017 collection with high-polish link chokers, cuffs, and multiple looped earrings that bear a strong resemblance to the menacing chain link fences found on the city streets that will forever remain his inspirational stomping ground.
(Photos courtesy of Vogue)

Up-and-coming designer Audra preferred a prettier version of punk, punctuating her collection with Borgioni’s refined, diamond-studded, gold handcuff bangles, rings, and delicately dangerous single stud earrings. Audra Danielle Noyes, the designer behind the brand, was drawn to these pieces because they nodded to her Fall 2017 collection’s inspiration: feeling connected, or tied to, the women who have come before you, and the women who will come after you. How serendipitous is it that Audra’s choice in fine jewelry turned out to be from a mother-daughter design team (aka Borgioni’s Rhonda and Tiffany Bartolacci)?
(Photos courtesy of Black & Steil)

Trend 3: Pearly-Girly Crystal Clash

Trends may come and go, but pearls and sparkling crystal jewels will remain a girly go-to.

Designer Jenny Packham delved deep into her British heritage and came up with a clutch of royalty-inspired pearl necklaces and rhinestone-coated stars. Known for her “diamond”-studded red carpet looks, Packham added a touch of sweetness to her glamorous Fall 2017 collection with these pieces.
(Photos courtesy of Jenny Packham)

Jason Wu presented his 10-year anniversary collection with a delicately balanced homage to asymmetry. Wu’s cool crystal drop earrings referred back to the off-kilter details that defined the designer’s Fall 2017 runway. Large, random clusters of crystals sat opposite ear climbers fashioned of smaller sparkling nuggets, proving that perfection isn’t always the goal.
(Photos courtesy of Vogue) 

(Photo at top courtesy of Jenny Packham)

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Amy Elliott

JCK Contributing Editor

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