Style Edit: Chow Tai Fook’s Chinese Couture high jewellery collection
Creative director of high jewellery Nicholas Lieou introduces a range inspired by the traditional elements of Chinese dressmaking
Jeweller Chow Tai Fook unveiled its latest high jewellery collection, Chinese Couture, in Shanghai, China, with creative director of high jewellery Nicholas Lieou on hand to introduce the range. Sonia Cheng, vice-chairman and executive director of Chow Tai Fook Jewellery Group, and global ambassador Yang Yang also attended the event.
Known as haute joaillerie in French, high jewellery is a very niche segment of the industry. Each piece is unique and made with the rarest and most precious stones, requiring months if not years of handiwork by skilled artisans.
One of the very few Asia-based brands to offer high jewellery, Chow Tai Fook made its first foray into the category last year, with a collection inspired by Chinese architecture and philosophy launched in Hangzhou, one of China’s most beautiful and ancient cities.
For this year’s range, Chow Tai Fook focused on Chinese couture. Rather than just highlighting the iconography and symbolism of Chinese traditional garments – such as the use of dragon embroidery – Lieou also honed in on the craft of dressmaking, and the building blocks of Chinese clothing.
A necklace made of pearls and diamonds, for instance, re-creates the silk ribbons worn in the hair or tied at the waist during the Han and Tang dynasties. Made of rich yellow gold, the centrepiece ribbon evokes the shimmery surface of silk. Its fabric-like texture is achieved through filigree, a technique that has long been used in China to make gold jewels.
