If you’ve been reading my features here for a while, you know I have a few pet peeves when it comes to costume jewelry terminology. It’s not just a matter of being a stickler as a seller; I also appreciate the attention to detail as a buyer. I touched on one often misused phrase in 3 Earmarks of “High-end” Costume Jewelry. I’ll get to another hot-button term, “Gripoix,” in another feature. For now, I’m focusing on one that should be self-explanatory but apparently isn’t. I’m talking about “runway.”
While some jewelry is marketed as “high-end,” only a fraction truly qualifies. Likewise, pieces labeled as “runway” designs rarely fit this standard. Some people seem to think that any large, eye-catching necklace deserves this distinction. But really, unless jewelry was made for a fashion show, it doesn’t qualify. Call it a statement necklace, but don’t call it runway.
The bottom line is that using “runway” to define jewelry is a marketing ploy that really doesn’t have any teeth. It makes a seller look like they either don’t know what a real piece of runway jewelry is, or that they don’t care and will say anything to attract attention to their online listings. With that said, let’s look at what makes a piece of jewelry a runway design.
Haute Couture Jewelry
Understanding runway jewelry requires delving into haute couture adornment. One of my favorite books when it comes to learning about this type of accessory is Costume Jewelry for Haute Couture by Florence Muller. As a side note, this book is now on my list of tomes to watch for as a collectible since it can be quite expensive as an out-of-print title. If you happen upon an estate sale of a jewelry collector, be sure to check out the books on jewelry in their stash for potential bargains.
Now, back to the haute adornment worn by runway models. These pieces of jewelry were sometimes one-of-a-kind creations or made in multiples of just a few. They were ordered by all the biggest names in fashion, from Chanel to Schiaparelli and Balenciaga to Dior. A special type of jewelry manufacturer (known as a parurier in French) was responsible for these creations. The jewelry pieces they made for European couture houses comprise the bulk of what is considered runway jewelry in the vintage marketplace. Many of the pieces are large and showy, as they needed to be to command attention on the catwalk while complementing the clothing.
Names that fall into this category include Roger Scémama, Roger Jean-Pierre, Robert Goosens, and Maison Gripoix, but there were many others. At times, they were commissioned to produce jewelry to accompany a specific frock, but often they made collections of jewelry that were shopped by different couture houses.
Runway jewelry is distinct because it was not mass-produced; instead, it was meticulously handcrafted in limited quantities, making it rare. This rarity is one of the main reasons why labeling everything as “runway” undermines the genuine essence of designs created from the 1930s to the 1960s. Collectors of the finest costume jewelry recognize and value this uniqueness today.
Even later, after the golden years of the parurier had passed, familiar names like Iradj Moini created runway jewelry for Oscar de la Renta. Lawrence Vrba, former head designer for Miriam Haskell, has been known to outfit Victoria’s Secret fashion shows as well. Several other designers have made singular, eye-catching pieces for catwalk use, too. It’s still rare to have the chance to own these today.
Identifying Runway Jewelry
There will be many times that you run across a piece of jewelry that is hard to identify. You’ll search high and low online and not find another one like it. Does that mean it was made for the runway? Probably not. More likely, it was from a collection of mainstream jewelry that just didn’t sell very well, and not many have survived over time. This is a lesson I learned talking with Vrba several years ago. Sometimes things we deem “rare” didn’t sell well back in the day, so very few examples exist now.
If you’re lucky enough to acquire a piece of jewelry made for the runway, however, it will likely have its own unique characteristics. In addition to not being easy to identify, it may have earmarks of hand craftsmanship rather than being machine-made. Poured glass, handmade beads, and hand-wired elements can all be present in this type of jewelry. Some are marked only deposé (a French term for patented or registered) and are often associated with Roger Jean-Pierre. However, a study of construction techniques is necessary before making that assumption. With some diligent research, occasionally, you might even have the good fortune to find a fashion show photo to support a claim that what you have is a runway design.
Don’t be confused, however, by magazine photoshoots where items made to sell at retail are used to adorn models. Some French fashion pubs in the ‘50s used jewelry from the paruriers, but many American magazines show jewelry available to consumers through upscale retailers.
Ready-to-Wear Jewelry by Paruriers and Couture Houses
Some of the confusion about what runway jewelry is stems from the fact that some of the jewelry workshops that made jewelry for the couture houses also made ready-to-wear lines. Various couture houses also licensed their names to mass-produced jewelry lines in some cases.
For instance, Coppola e Toppo designed for Schiaparelli and Valentino, but the Italian firm also marketed many pieces of jewelry under their own brand. Roger Model and Lionel de Grand designed for Hubert de Givenchy’s fashion shows, but eventually, Givenchy jewelry went mainstream and was sold in department stores. Even Moini and Vrba have produced head-turning lines of retail jewelry.
Are all those examples runway designs just because they make a bold statement? The answer is no, whether they were sold in more limited quantities to boutique customers or mass-marketed through department stores. These impressive pieces can be super high in quality, very collectible, and bring good sums in the collector’s marketplace, but they’re still not runway jewelry.
Pamela Siegel is a freelance writer and author who has been educating collectors for more than two decades. In addition to three books on topics relating to antiques and collectibles, she frequently shares her expertise through online writing and articles for print-based publications. Pamela is also the co-founder of Costume Jewelry Collectors Int’l (CJCI) and the proprietor of Chic Antiques by Pamela.
WorthPoint—Discover. Value. Preserve.
Credit: Source link
