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Journalism of Courage
It8217;s never pleasant when you8217;reonthevergeofdisappearing into the oblivion after spending a considerableamountoftimeatthetop. So you could probably sympathise with jewellery designer Jamini Ahluwalia8217;s long, beaded chains. Season after season, they have been the darlings of society divas, sitting pretty around Crystal Noir-scented necks and skimming Roberto Cavalli-wornnavels.
This, till Ahluwalia8217;s latest collection of charms disrupted their smooth run. And going by the international craze for little talismans, the navelgrazers might as well give up the fight.
Today, at Ahluwalia8217;s south Mumbai studio, these little trinkets rule the roost. 8220;Charms are very hot internationally, and they are picking up here,8221; she says. 8220;I expect them to last till winter,8221; she adds. 8220;In fact, vintage charms used in the 1950s are surfacing now and are valued by collectors. They are often sold at auctions conducted by Sotheby8217;s and Christie8217;s,8221; she says.
Designer Anita Vaswani, who shuttles between New York and Mumbai, has spent the past few months stringing together feathers, coral chillies, semi-precious gems, shells and Turkish beads in her signature quirky style. Her jewellery label is aptly called Stoned. 8220;What I love about charms is that there8217;s no order in it. Anything can be put together and it looks great,8221; she says. Abhishek Bachchan and Avanti Birla have been sporting her pieces.
Ahluwalia also has a line of yoga charms8212;Om signs and Ganeshas for the navel. For those who believe that size does matter, she8217;s stringing together bunches of crochet, gold beads and coral sticks into charms. For Valentine8217;s Day this year, Vaswani set up a D-I-Y charmbar at Mumbai8217;sThe Oak Tree, where customers were encouraged to pick from a variety of charms and string them onto necklaces and bracelets. She also had a collection of cutesy charms for children.
At international fashion houses, charmsarethefocal point intheirjewellerycollection. ThehistoryofChanel and charms are interwoven8212;Coco Chanel was so attached to them that she filled her Paris apartment with symbols like the lion8217;s head, the fourleaf clover, the sheaf of wheat and the Cameliaflower.
Today,KarlLargerfeldusesthesame symbols in the brand8217;s ready-to-wear collection, be it in the formof buttons or costume jewellery. Louis Vuitton8217;s 2006 spring-summer collection, The Charms Extraordinaires line, has mini charms symbolising the historyofthebrand.
Swarovski is also planning to add a linktothechainandindulgeanimaland bling lovers. The brand8217;s next Lovlots collection has cute crystal-studded dogs, sheep, snails and cows. And there8217;smore8212;Vaswani8217;snextaregoing tobehealingcharms,whileAhluwaliais coming up with celebration pieces for marriagesandbirths. Yup, those longchain days are gone!
