loops. ‘They define a new language.’
Byredo’s repertoire and aesthetic is constantly
evolving. In June, it unveiled collaborations
with Swedish outdoor label Peak Performance,
alongside ByProduct, a collection of
basketball-inspired sneakers and made-to-
order suits by Stockholm tailor AW Bauer &
Co. The elemental nature of the Value Chain
collection bears parallels with the reductive
nature of Byredo’s original scent: clean,
pure, and without the bells and whistles of
glossy branding.
Chesnais, who founded her eponymous
company in 2015, is known for her sculptural,
asymmetric designs that play with metals
and interact with the body. She has also
created catwalk jewellery for Balenciaga
and Paco Rabanne, and met Gorham when
designing under Nicolas Ghesquière for
Balenciaga. The Byredo collaboration marks
the first time she has designed a chain, and
the interconnecting links are a symbol of
the partnership. ‘The basic form also allows
us to play with scale and materials,’ she says
of the designs.The project continues Byredo’s ‘exploration
of materials and techniques’, apparent in its
collection of zebu-horn combs handcrafted in
the French Pyrenees and blankets designed in
collaboration with M/M (Paris), the creative
studio behind Byredo’s visual identity. It also
happens to be a smart time to launch fine
jewellery, which has become a luxury-sector
sales juggernaut. In April, Prada debuted
its first fine jewellery line, and in July, Gucci
creative director Alessandro Michele
presented his first high jewellery collection
for the house. Gucci has also opened its
first high jewellery boutique, on Paris’ Place
Vendôme. According to a report by McKinsey
business analysts, global jewellery sales are
expected to grow five to six per cent year on
year, reaching €250bn by 2020. Pertinently,
it’s also predicted that future growth in
branded fine jewellery is likely to reachFROM LEFT, CHAIN NECKLACE IN
18CT GOLD WITH DIAMONDS; CHAIN
NECKLACE IN STERLING SILVER,
BOTH PRICE ON REQUEST, PART OF
THE VALUE CHAIN COLLECTIONbeyond traditional jewellery names to luxury
fashion houses in adjacent categories, such as
high-end apparel or leather goods – companies
like Dior, Hermès and Louis Vuitton.
There’s a beauty in the engineering
of Chesnais’ jewellery pieces, their various
fastenings a display of craft and ingenuity.
Take a sinuous, S-shaped earring, attached
to the ear lobe with a clasp of curving
spiked metal, or two bi-metal rings linked
with a hook. For the Value Chain collection,
she created two styles of closure: a gliding
‘kiss kiss’ clasp that imperceptibly slots
together to close the silver pieces; and
a hinged clip, which ‘makes you feel like
you can’t take the piece off ’, for the heavier
gold and pavé designs.
The fastenings link back to Gorham’s
belief in the essential ‘invisibility’ and
‘strength’ of jewellery. ‘The weightier clasp
makes a loud click,’ Chesnais says. Byredo’s
success was once defined by the smell of
pine needle, incense and bergamot. It has
a satisfying sound now too. ∂
Available from November, byredo.com∑
Jewellery
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