Impressions from Feninjer, London, About J
By Pooja Agarwal
Departure: Singapore: 13th Feb
Arrival: Singapore: 26th Feb
In this period, to cover two jewellery trade fairs in different continents and manage to walk down Bond Street in a totally different location is no mean feat. But, it was great for my sense of style trends. The global amalgamation of fashion and culture was exhilarating.
Indian-inspired earrings by Brumani
14-18 Feb, São Paulo
Organised by IBGM (www.ibgm.com.br), the 48th Feninjer, Brazilian Gems and Jewelry Show, in São Paulo was simply joyful with so many colours. From February 14th to 17th, some of Brazil’s leading design houses launched jewellery collections. Brazilian style as a brand is a force to be reckoned with in the international markets.
It’s official: Bold, colourful, eccentric adornment is in. It has been a bonanza from gemstone jewellery designers in Brazil. The striking pieces of coloured stone jewellery that they have created is proof that the resurgence of colour is in full swing.
Currently, Indian-inspired jewellery design is very popular in Brazil due to a major 9- month long TV show shown six times a week, a Brazilian version of a Bollywood soap opera. The love story begins in Brazil and then moves to Jaipur in India. The entire cast of this soap opera is Brazilian though their looks and costumes are one hundred per cent Indian!
Having traveled far and wide from Tokyo to St Petersburg, Riyadh to Paris and Mumbai to San Francisco, I have yet to come across anything like Daslu (www.daslu.com.br). It is a maze-like structure of more than 60 labels plus 30 store-in-stores, which did astound me. Little wonder the boutique is known as the “fashion designers’ mecca” of Brazil.
Frightfully expensive, it was nice just to look at. For real shopping, I headed to the fashionable Rua Oscar Freire shopping street. Obviously, a visit to H.Stern’s grand boutique was in order – after all, it is the most popular jewellery brand from Brazil. www.hstern.net
Courtesy IBGM, I even got a chance to be part of the famous carnival rehearsals. It was wild! The music was fantastic.
Obrigada (Thank you) for accompanying me to Brazil.
19-21 Feb, London
After more than 15 hours, via Paris I arrived in London. It had been almost 9 years since I had been here. With no time to recover from jet-lag, I went straight to the Royal College of Art (RCA) to meet a friend.
