Jewelry chain Zales has debuted a new program to feature the collections of talented emerging designers. The retailer’s Designer Spotlight program, which launched this month, is designed to quickly onboard upstart collections to a new online retail marketplace on Zales.com.
The company is currently searching for “maverick designers and brands, with the hopes of helping small businesses affected by COVID-19, as well as giving a platform to [BIPOC] designers,” according to prepared statement on the initiative. Interested brands and designers can fill out a form and upload their portfolio of work on this landing page.
The collections chosen will be featured on Zales.com during the fall and holiday 2020 seasons—a meaningful prize (and potential business launcher) for any emerging jewelry brand. Zales is owned and operated by Signet Jewelers Limited, the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry.
Zales will be taking nominations through July 28, with the new brands appearing on Zales.com come September. To attract more BIPOC candidates, the retailer has also reached out to GLAAD, NAACP, the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Accessories Council to help identify talented artists.
A representative for Zales tells JCK that the retailer hopes to make Designer Spotlight an ongoing program “to feature a rotation of great, unique, and diverse talents.”
Jamie Singleton, president of Zales, Kay Jewelers, and Peoples, said in a statement, “The pandemic is challenging all businesses—especially emerging fine jewelry designers…. We want to give them an opportunity to grow their business using our successful Zales.com digital platform as their launching pad.”
Top: Zales’ ad for its Designer Spotlight initiative (via @zalesjewelers)
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