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Trends spotted from Vicenzaoro Dubai’s aisles included enormous gemstone necklaces, purple pearls, flowers, Indian bridal neckpieces, and crochet-type designs.
Lies Vervaele, brand manager for the Middle East for Belgium brand, Hulchi Belluni, says consumer preference for jewellery in the region ranges from opulent statement neckpieces fit for royalty to daily-wear fashion-forward designs. Brand loyalty is quite strong in this part of the world, she notes. “What”¨ I love about the region is the connection between women, whether they are sisters or friends,” she adds. “They really talk about the jewellery brands they like and the word-of-mouth advertising is really good. You see this also with purses, makeup, sunglasses, shoes, and clothing.”
Eddie LeVian, chief executive officer (CEO) of Le Vian, says maintaining brand continuity is critical when creating a lifestyle brand. Design elements like the company’s trademarked names for diamonds, gemstones, and gold are included in its line of handbags, which it showcased at the fair. For now, the collection is being sold through jewellery retailers.
“Our distribution model for our handbag line is to bring luxury and jewellery together, meaning the jeweller will have the opportunity to have a collection that co-ordinates with jewellery to help keep the luxury customer in the store,” he said. “If a customer already trusts the retailer to spend thousands on jewellery, why do they think they can’t sell handbags?”
Suvankar Sen, executive director of India-based company, Senco Gold Ltd., brought dozens of intricate, handmade mesh gold wedding neckpieces to the show. He says consumers in this part of the world prefer 21-karat gold.
“Buyers in India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka prefer 22-karat gold, but for the Middle East, they prefer 21-karat gold,” Sen says. “We’ve also tried to incorporate inspiration from nature and geometrical shapes into our jewellery, exactly as the TrendVision forecast.”
Once again, Paola De Luca presented her forecast for jewellery trends in 2016. TrendVision, the fair’s independent research centre, provides an 18-month look ahead at the hottest designs manufacturers should keep in mind when creating upcoming collections.
De Luca stressed the importance of strategy when it comes to forecasting trends. “It’s about understanding where we are going when we collect information,” she says. “The second important point is storytelling, which is not just communicated through advertising or merchandising. And last but not least, we need a design strategy. Business is generated through selling products and if we don’t know who we’re selling to, we can design and manufacture product, but we won’t sell it.”
