RAPAPORT...Trend forecasters and style experts told Rapaport Diamond Report what they predict the major movements will be in the year ahead.
GERALD CELENTE, DIRECTOR TRENDS RESEARCH INSTITUTE PUBLISHER OF TRENDS JOURNAL TRENDSRESEARCH.COM• Environmental movements will come into play as groups call on mines to clean up.
•There is an upswing in gold demand; it will continue to increase in value as the dollar continues to decline. There will be a repatriation of other commodities. Gold is a “safe-haven” commodity.
•There will be some moral outrage about diamonds regarding labor, but it will be transient. There will be no lasting results due to high demand; there will be minor impact.
• Smart companies will try to appear green. But less than 10 percent of the population will ask for it. It’s a smart strategy, but there will be small incremental growth.
• On the economic front, it will look a lot like today —wages, benefits and income will continue to go down. But the higher end will continue strong.
• Income will continue to stratify and the gap will widen.
• There will be some softness even at the top, as more people move up the economic ladder, and there will be some stagnation.
Michael O’Connor
Jewelry & Style Expert
Platinum Guild International
• Earrings are getting shorter and closer to the ear. Drops will be about two inches in length, which for most women falls to the jawline, an attractive length for all face shapes because it doesn’t lengthen the face.
• Bracelets for women will be stacked, and you will see chunkier bracelets being stacked to create a signature look. Bracelets can mix and match for boardroom chic or outright drama, depending on the pieces.
• The new stacking with necklaces is to use two. Take one pendant and frame it with another necklace — if it’s a long necklace, it can be wrapped twice.
• Cocktail rings are still popular and have become more of a long-term fashion statement. The other way to do a big-ring look is to stack bands to create a big look without being over the top.
• Men are buying neck chains, pins and earrings — more men are wearing pairs of earrings. There are also more bracelets and rings, as well as high-end watches.
• High-end watches are benefiting from men liking platinum as a luxury metal.
Meredith Markworth-Pollack Assistant Costume Designer
“Gossip Girls”
• Fashion will stray away from the 1960s shift dress and lean more toward a fitted shape, similar to the 1930s and 1940s.
• Accessorizing with hats, gloves and tights will be more prevalent.
• Women will make outfits, instead of throwing random pieces together, resulting in a more stylized look.
• Floral prints will be big.
• Colors will be muted, with sweeps of bright oranges, yellows and greens.
• Ethnic and ornate jewelry will become popular, as well as tarnished metals and vintage-inspired pieces.
Margaret Walch, Director
Color Association of the United States
There are four color stories for Spring/Summer 2008.
• Seasons: Vintage, with grayed-off, muted colors — parchment white, potpourri mauve, Pompeian red, pearlized gray. There will be lots of vintage 1930s and 1940s jewelry, rose gold, soft corals and cameos. Charm bracelets will continue.
• Fresh: Clear, vivid pale colors — teals, jades, aqua stones, some yellow topaz and debutante pearls. This is a very young color story.
• Nature: Charming, innocent shades — pink, yellow, sky blue, grassy green, brown, familiar colors.
• Facade: Architectural and contemporary — gray taupe, coral, peacock blue and yellow-green. Peridot is an important gemstone. This trend is white metals and large, interesting shapes in stones in artisan pieces that look handcrafted.
For fall 2008/2009, multicolor mixes of three to five colors become more desirable.
• High Drama: Richer, more jeweled tones — emerald, sapphire, amethyst. Bright fluorescent colors — orange and yellow — are significant. Grays also become more dominant.
• Metallics continue — silver, gold, bronze and copper. Mixing metals is used to create offbeat color combos.
• City Stage: Mimics seasons and looks at twentieth-century design. Fuchsia is fashion forward and fun. Colors are grayed off.
• Going forward, color is used to create a psychological jolt in life from the uncertainties of politics and war.
• White continues to be prominent through 2009.
• Diamonds are important because they are white and they glitter. Clusters of diamonds will be a big look.
• Men are becoming more comfortable with fashion and they are dressing more fashionably.
• Men want to look different, so they are using more accessories — belt buckles, earrings, bracelets — and the jewelry is more sophisticated.
• Black continues for both men and women as it pairs wonderfully with white, any metallics and Day-Glo colors used in small amounts.
Arnold Brown, Chairman Weiner, Edrich, Brown• For the past several decades, the trend has been toward medicalization of problems. If there is a problem, we create a medical name and a product or therapy to treat it. Now, there is a countertrend. People are taking things back from the “professional” and asserting responsibility for themselves and their rights.
• There is a big move toward the search for competence. Nothing works any more. There are too many organizations and an increasing amount of bureaucracy. And there is not enough talent. Companies have gotten too big and have become unmanageable. The trend is to return to smaller business units.
• Social responsibility and the environmental movement are hugely popular. The green movement will accelerate and get bigger because companies realize they can make money from it.
• There is a movement going forward of more young people getting into professions where they can use their hands and learn a craft. More and more jobs will be done by software and robots, so more young people will become artisans so they will be able to make a living — carpenters, plumbers, electricians, glass blowers, things that can only be done by hand.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - January 2008. To subscribe click here.