What do we want now?
It’s crystal clear
ONE OF THE FEW fashion categories to perform well during the past year – one that wasn’t loungewear – was jewellery. That might seem at odds with a mood that’s been anything but sparkling, yet it makes sense. Wouldn’t a gargantuan crystal choker or a candy cocktail ring be a much-needed dose of dopamine?
Editor, fashion consultant and former model Giovanna Engelbert certainly thinks so. That choker and ring are just two of the pieces in her irresistibly uplifting debut Swarovski collection. ‘It’s a moment you take for yourself,’ she says, adding that jewellery is something you can show off on Zoom. Although she can’t wait to have an excuse to dress up again (‘I want to wear a gown! I want to wear something long and dramatic!’), she says jewellery has been an excellent substitute in the past few months.
But for Giovanna, jewellery has been more than a distraction, it’s also been a full-time job. In May 2020 she became global creative director of Swarovski, having consulted for the brand since 2016.
Giovanna’s appointment is a savvy move. Daniel Swarovski, who founded the house 126 years ago, was also (to use 21st-century parlance) a multi-hyphenate. ‘He was a scientist, a mathematician, an inventor, a mechanic,’ explains Giovanna, who looked to him and his sketches for inspiration. The house’s history of melding ‘logic and magic, art and science’ was her ‘ignitor’.
The result is Collection I, her debut, which radiates the same exuberant glamour as Giovanna, who is one of the most longstanding, consistently exciting fixtures on the street-style circuit. Mismatched drop earrings, ultra-long necklaces and chunky cuffs come in a sweet shop array of colours. A made-to-order body piece is the ultimate out-out armour. ‘This is vitamin D,’ she says, gesturing at a yellow, octagoncut gobstopper of a ring. ‘This is swimming pool,’ she says of the blue version.
Based in Sweden, Giovanna worked on the collection in the depths of the pandemic (she jokes she’s never seen her closest colleagues’ legs). Working during this time, she asked herself the question: ‘What is the role of jewellery now in this tough moment for society?’ Although she is well aware it’s not a necessity, the ‘necessity of dreams’ is what pushed her to keep going. ‘For me, the role was to make mood-boosters, to make a joyful moment in your life,’ she says. ‘Crystal allows you to have that in quantity and every colour!’
She’s right. The accessible price-point of crystal, plus Giovanna’s poppy, go-for-it aesthetic, frees the wearer to have fun with the pieces, to pile on the rings or layer those necklaces over a sweatshirt. It’s a modern attitude to jewellery – buy it for yourself, wear it however you want, break the rules. How does she want people to feel wearing her designs? ‘If I say “happy” is that too cheesy?’ she laughs. On the contrary – it’s exactly what we’re all looking for now.