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Le Vian Names “Symbols Of Protection” As Jewelry Trend Of The Year; Addresses Adaptability | September 16, 2020 (0 comments)
Great Neck, NY—The Le Vian Red Carpet Revue and Trend Forecast, typically held on Sunday afternoon during the JCK Show in Las Vegas, was reinvented for a virtual audience on Monday, September 14. Image: Butterfly ring featuring Le Vian's trademarked Nude Diamonds and Chocolate Diamonds set in 14K Vanilla Gold, symbolizes hope and longevity, reflecting its "Symbols of Protection" Trend Of The Year.
The newly-launched Le Vian TV channel carried the event, emceed by chairman Eddie Le Vian and Patrick Frazier, the company’s executive director of shows. Le Vian designer Leonardo Kashi and Avril Graham, executive fashion and beauty editor of Harper’s Bazaar, who has been a fixture at the event for 10 years, also were on hand, along with various members of the Le Vian family who introduced the various trends, Academy Awards-style. The entire event spanned more than three hours, with Zoom gatherings for Le Vian collectors, press, and VIP guests before and after the actual trend presentation, which was streamed on Facebook Live.
Chocolate and challenges. 2020 is a pivotal year for the company, said Eddie Le Vian. It represents the 20thanniversary of he and his siblings taking over upon the passing of their father, but also the company’s 20thanniversary of celebrating its famed Chocolate Diamonds and producing its trend forecasting galas.
“Who knew? When the year started, we thought it would be a happy year of celebrating Chocolate Diamonds, and jubilee rings were flying off shelves. Little did we know what would happen next. Just as we began celebrations this year, we were hit with the pandemic in March. But I said we’re going to go ahead and do all the things that make this company what it is,” said Le Vian. “We didn’t want to give up our role to be trendsetters and forecasters for our industry.”
“We entered a new era for Le Vian by force and by destiny. Our factories were closed, and our stores were shut down for moths. There were so many challenges but we wouldn’t give up. Our family decided to be resilient and move forward with a message of life, love and hope, and that jewelry is the perfect way to mark life’s special moments. We decided not to just have innovative product but to be innovative with technology. We pivoted quickly to move to digital selling, through flipbooks and virtual look books, to connect to our collectors. The brand also launched Le Vian TV to stay connected to its collectors, “from our basement to your living room,” he laughed.
Eddie Le Vian, right, chats with Avril Graham of Harper's Bazaar magazine for the annual Red Carpet Revue.
The company went ahead and produced 4,500 unique new designs to meet the 11 new trends that it announced on Monday. Additionally, it launched a brand-new 1,000-piece collection of Le Vian High Jewelry.
Related: Le Vian Announces First Digital Red Carpet Revue and 2021 Forecast
“Le Vian is about family. Love and unity, building a good name, your work ethic, honesty, integrity, and giving back have been our secrets to success. We realized the only way to teach those values the next generation is how we live our lives, conduct our business, and show with our action like our parents did,” said Le Vian, before announcing that St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital would be this year’s charity beneficiary of the Red Carpet Revue.
“Our family sees it as a duty to give back. That’s why Le Vian has mandated that every year we will give 10% of pre-tax profits back to charity.” St. Jude’s was chosen in honor of several young Le Vian family members that tragically passed.
The company pledged to donate $500 per couple attending the festivities and match any pledges they make, to $100,000. Attendees were directed to www.levian.com/charity to pledge.
The trends. It goes without saying that 2020 has been a most challenging year around the world. As a result, Le Vian declared meaningful jewelry and “Symbols of Protection” as the key overarching trend of the year. Jewelry in this category depicts a variety of symbols of spirituality, life, love, hope, togetherness, and more, such as religious icons, Evil Eye, hamsa, angel wings, Pride flags, and more.
The other trends were:
- Exotic Gem of the Year – Peacock Aquaprase - A heady mix of colors, known as a multicolored matrix, floats against a semi-transparent blue-green body and individualized patterns of white sea foam
- Precious Gem of the Year – Sapphires - From Blueberry and Cornflower Sapphires in blues to pinks, purple, yellows and green sapphires, the ancients believed this gemstone brings protection, good fortune and wisdom
- Diamonds of the Year – Natural color diamonds - 10,000 times rarer than white diamonds, Le Vian’s natural colored diamonds come in Chocolate Diamonds which celebrated their 20thanniversary in 2020, Sunny Yellow Diamonds and an array of blues, pinks and greens
- Metal of the Year – Platinum - 30 times rarer than gold, the pure perfection of platinum is the perfect palette for Le Vian’s bold color palette of gemstones.
- Shape of the Year – Rectangular - A geometric look resulting in beloved cushion cuts, emerald cuts and exquisite cabochon cuts, or composites of gemstones in rectangular forms
- Feature of the Year – Composites and clusters - Le Vian celebrates a new proprietary technique of placing Nude and Chocolate Diamonds of similar sizes next to each other, giving the appearance they are fused as one.
- Design Trend of the Year – Scallops - Breathing new life into traditional halo effects, inspired by delicate flower petals and the grace of a ballerina’s tutu.
- Color of the Year – Shades - Lush combinations of rich, decadent color come in Chocolate Souffle, Chocolate Layer Cake and Chocolate Chip
- Spring Color Palette – Pastels - Soft hues of Peach Morganite, Sea-Blue Aquamarine and Cotton Candy Amethyst usher in a sparkling new season filled with hope
- Fall Color Palette – Vivids - For warmth on colder days, choose classic jewel tones teamed with the confection of Vanilla and Chocolate Diamonds
Le Vian Couture pendant featuring Peacock Aquaprase, Vanilla Diamonds, Chocolate Diamonds set in 18K Strawberry Gold.
Avril Graham pointed out how the jewelry trends align with key fashion trends, such as the rectangular shape reflecting the long, slinky dresses shown on the runways, and the romantic, oversized sleeves of the runways being reflected in the scallop shape. She also reminded the audience how many celebrities wear Le Vian regularly, including Rihanna, who is on the September cover of Harper’s Bazaar, and Jennifer Lopez, a brand fan for years.
The Facebook Live trend presentation concluded with a catwalk fashion show filmed at a lavish private residence in Brooklyn. Between takes, staff wore masks and observed social distancing. Here's a behind-the-scenes moment:
Click here to view the trend lookbook.
Click here to see the brand’s first High Jewelry collection.
Enjoy clips from the show by clicking on each below. Video clip password is hr
Living Room Runway of 11 Trends for 2021 (2 mins)
Symbols of Protection (30 seconds)
Natural Color Diamonds (40 seconds)
Peacock Aquaprase (20 seconds)
Platinum and Sapphire (25 seconds)
Rectangular (25 seconds)