2023-05-25 07:16:58
Chopard launches into haute couture
Caroline Scheufele, artistic director and co-president of the Swiss jewelry brand, imagined 50 outfits.
Taken from the Caroline’s Couture collection. A drawing by Caroline Scheufele.
CHOPARD
Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton… Many fashion houses have launched themselves into watchmaking and jewellery. No one, however, has done the opposite. Till today. Caroline Scheufele, artistic director and co-president of Chopard, has just presented her first haute couture collection.
The curtain rose this Tuesday, at the heart of the Cannes Film Festival, with a parade combining fashion and fine jewelry. Because these outfits also have a specificity that goes once morest the grain of everything that is usually done. They have been designed to showcase the jewels of the house, in this case, the Red Carpet 2023 collection. So no rhinestones, or a minimum. But beautiful raw materials, well cut and impeccable finishes. “I have an eye for jewelry, where you work on very small surfaces. So, I’m very obsessed with that, ”insists Caroline Scheufele. Her goal: “To achieve a complete harmony between clothes and jewelry, in order to make the woman even more beautiful than she is.”
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The designer had this project in mind for a while: “It came to me when I started working with teams from the Kalhath Institute in Lucknow, northern India, to help women learn to sew and embroider. Why not do it for us? And last year, during the Chopard evening in Cannes, I said to myself that it was very beautiful, these jewels presented with these beautiful Elie Saab dresses. But there was something that didn’t quite fit. Too many sparkles… That’s how I started doing some sketches. Sometimes you have to know how to get out of your comfort zone.
Environmentally friendly
It must be said that Caroline Scheufele has always been fascinated by fashion. All that remained was for him to surround himself with the right people to carry out his project: “As for my watches and my jewellery, I wanted to adopt a responsible approach from an ethical, social and environmental point of view. I wanted to avoid all this waste that exists in fashion houses. Of the 250 models usually created for a parade, only fifty are retained. The rest is thrown away! In watchmaking and jewelry, nothing is wasted because the raw material is expensive. With my models, every meter of fabric is used so that there are as few scraps as possible.”
And the designer added: “I also wanted these clothes to last over time and therefore to be made with the best fabrics. Finally, I wanted you to be able to wear them several times, playing with various combinations and transformations. Not like those haute couture dresses that you only put on once and then stay in the wardrobes. This is why my models have a timeless style. They are classic and elegant, but with a little twist.”
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This is how Caroline Scheufele first turned to Maximiliano Modesti, the initiator of the Kalhath Institute. Specialized in embroidery, it works to strengthen the skills of craftsmen and to pass on this exceptional know-how, in a framework that allows people to be rewarded at their fair value. All embroideries in the Caroline’s Couture collection are thus produced by the institute. While a large part of the fabrics, such as chiffon, taffeta, duchess satin, silk cady and, above all, lace come from the Swiss manufacturer Jakob Schlaepfer, in St. Gallen. A reference in the matter. Others finally come from the Gentili Mosconi workshops in Como, Italy. In particular, the jacquards. As for the making of the models, it takes place between Paris, Milan and India.
Sparkling elegance
On the inspiration side, Caroline Scheufele draws from the beauty of nature, colors, animals. “Like for watches and jewelry.” And it is quite naturally that his sunny and joyful character permeates his creations: “There are very playful things, others more elegant or more glamorous. With patterns of roses and Happy Hearts that are found on different fabrics. Her favourites? “Velvet, but this is more wintry. And satin, because it gives a lot of light to jewellery.”
CHOPARD
When it comes to distribution, things are still a bit hazy. The first models were sold in Cannes, to Chopard customers, during their presentation. “For the rest, we will see. What is certain is that I don’t want to open a store. One can very well work as a tailor for men. There will surely be places in the world where you can come and choose the fabrics and have the measurements taken. It’s a capsule collection, a pilot project, and I want it to remain very confidential.”
Question price, Caroline Scheufele wants to remain correct. Everything will depend on the raw material and the complexity of production. But on average, we are between 10,000 and 50,000 francs per silhouette. “Although a simple jacket, for example, might cost around 5000 francs.” The price of quality.
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