By Frances Hopes
The High Jewellery collection, called Silk Road, was unveiled in Paris’ prestigious Hotel Salomon de Rothschild on 2 July. Guided by prolific creativity, a tireless quest for perfection and an aspiration towards the sublime, Caroline Scheufele has given rise to a vast and opulent collection of High Jewellery themed around a dreamy vision of Asia, in which colours and fabrics weave their magic spell. It was based on these models that Chinese fashion designer Guo Pei continued the creative adventure, embarking the jewellery on a journey into her own world and putting together a Couture collection tailored to the same high standards.
Together, they have created a joint collection in which jewellery and apparel meet and mingle to embroider some truly exceptional pieces. Chopard sets the stage for its most prestigious gems, in turn inspiring the most extravagant gowns.
It was in 2015 that Scheufele first met the Chinese fashion designer Pei in Cannes, where they discovered a mutual admiration for each other’s work. These two passionate dedicated artists are engaged in a permanent quest to create exceptional works. In September that year, Pei took up Scheufele’s invitation to visit the Chopard High Jewellery workshops in Geneva. This occasion sparked the idea of a collaboration between the two, in which a lively dialogue between jewellery and apparel would mutually illuminate their respective worlds.
Scheufele has given life to a fully fledged jewellery “wardrobe” – a delightful, vibrant, strong and beautifully structured collection brimming with aesthetic references. The two share an inherent sense of tradition firmly propelled into modern times: well acquainted with fashion history, they are both capable of drawing upon an existing legacy so as to offer dazzling and constantly renewed contemporary interpretations. Architecture, carefully mastered volumes, flowing lines and lightness lie at the core of their work.
Among the most spectacular creations in the collection is an open necklace in blackened silver, white gold and rubies. Delicately placed around the neck, it opens and then resumes its initial shape thanks to the suppleness and technical nature of the materials.
Elsewhere, on other models, unexpected colour combinations offer a new jewellery discourse: diamonds, emeralds and Paraiba tourmalines, the two latter being rarely combined in jewellery, set the stage for new chromatic horizons.
Alongside its new shapes and new uses, representing dainty stitches interweaving High Jewellery with Couture, the Silk Road collection also reveals the common ground between these two worlds in shaping a silhouette. Witness the diamond lacework Peter Pan collar necklace with its detachable central emerald: perfect lines, candid charm and a dazzling effect.
Another stellar model in the collection showcases the ever finer boundaries between High Jewellery and Couture: a gorgeous set composed of a necklace and earrings. Made of aluminium, rose gold and gems, it is the highlight of the wedding dress designed by Pei and inspired by this jewellery creation.
A truly spectacular collection, interpreting elegance and goldsmith expertise with seamless dexterity. More than ever, Chopard epitomises peerless creativity and testifies to the inspirational strength it embodies on the international scene. The majestic and vibrant stage-setting of the Silk Road collection, through a joint runway show with Pei, also expresses an innovative and promising form of feminine solidarity: women are never as strong as when they combine their talents.
