| FASHIONTRIBES DAILY 5 MIN. PODCAST: Bling is Bling is Bling. Not So! Exhibit A: US vs UK. FASHIONTRIBES FASHION BLOG & PODCAST |
| 09.06.06 | |
(French rapper Uffie; Anjuna in Paris; a four-finger ring from Anjuna)
Bling is not a universal thing. While the notion translates, the execution can vary significantly across countries & cultures. "There's a different style of bling in Europe that's more sophisticated," British designer Shaun Leane – who includes the Sultan of Brunei as a customer - recently told WWD. "It's not about the size of the rock, it's about the style and design." While bling is still a strong trend in the UK, where heavy gold chains & pendants are flying off the shelves at mass fashion retailers like H&M and Topshop, designers are starting to trading in size for creativity. "[Alexander] McQueen's fall show will also be very bling," says Leane, who has collaborated with McQueen for over a decade. "We've reached a stage where we want to bring the jewelry up a level and give it a couture feel.”
The fact is, European designers take a more jeweler-like approach. "Whereas U.S. brands tend to use heavy Thai silver that's cheaper and has a darker finish, we produce hand-polished chains made from rhodium metal to give a Tiffany-like, preppy vibe," says twenty-something Georgi Philip Pecenikov of the under-the-radar label Toy Me which mixes high & low: American cowboy’esque Sheriff badges & dollar signs along with charms inspired by toys tucked into chocolate eggs, quality diamonds from Antwerp, and the influence of other cultures such as India, known for bright, bold gold jewelry. "Britain's bubbling street scene is notorious for borrowing from its immigrant cultures, such as Jamaican or Indian," explains A-list London stylist Chloe Beeney.
Additionally, the British way of rocking bling is to nix the stereotypical tracksuits in favor of more fashion’y looks from designers like Burberry & Lacoste. European performers like French rapper Uffie tends to opt for bling from the continent rather than stateside. "France is the land of couture, and we've always been about individual style," says Beatrice Philippeaux of Anjuna in Paris, known for tattoo-inspired, customized jewelry. With a less than enthusiastic opinion of American bling and its tendancy to recycle "machine-made logos" such as the symbol for Coca Cola, she notes, "It's about mixing street spirit with creativity."
- To hear the Fashiontribes Podcast, visit the Fashiontribes Daily 5-Minute Podcast Show at PodcasterNews.com.
- Lesley Scott
(Photos: Uffie - Ludovic Belmonte; Anjuna Store & ring - Dominique Maitre; all via WWD)
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