Boucheron: A New Vision of Couture
Medals, buttons, embroidery, aiguillettes, and other embellishments... The creative director of Maison Boucheron, Claire Choisne, draws inspiration from ceremonial garb in order to revive the tradition of Frédéric Boucheron’s couture. She brings a fresh approach to the idea of ceremonial jewellery by means of the creative use of rock crystal and diamonds, so transforming them into something entirely new. 24 pieces of high jewellery are brought to light as a result of this magnificent deconstruction, which paves the way for a new vision of couture.
Beginning in the year 1817, Louis Boucheron, the father of the founder of the Maison, began his career in Paris as a draper. He had already grown the business by the year 1822 and had begun to specialise in silk. In 1837, he expanded his business to include lace, which is another rare and valuable material. Having been born in 1830, Frédéric Boucheron spent his childhood in that environment, which undoubtedly had an impact on the way he approached the manufacture of jewellery.
He had the same motivation throughout the 19th century as he worked to produce a delicate and flexible decoration. He accomplished this by transforming stones and gold into fashion-inspired components. “Bows, knits, grosgrain, pompoms, and lace abound in our archives, explains Claire Choisne. For this fourth edition of Histoire de Style, I decided to explore the theme of couture, without fuss.”
For this purpose, Claire Choisne decided to present a style interpretation that is not only daring but also unheard of by using the prism of ceremonial attire. This particular sort of uniform was appealing to the Creative Director of the Maison because of its apparent contradiction. At first glance, the appearance of someone dressed in ceremonial garb conveys the impression that they are rigid and extreme. An assortment of complex ornamentation, on the other hand, is revealed when it is disassembled into its component parts.
When it came to developing the 24 items that make up this collection, the Creation Studio remained true to that approach. “I decided to deconstruct the symbols of power to reappropriate them,” continues Claire Choisne. “This collection is designed like a precious kit that may be worn in a multitude of ways, choosing among various elements to create an individual style.”
The Power of Couture, in contrast to the genre’s flourishes, stresses the consistency of materials—diamonds and rock crystals—for a monochromatic theme that both softens the traditional gold-tone decorations’ baroque character and gives the pieces a more cheerful appearance. “The difficulty in crafting this collection was to bring the characteristics of fabric to rigid gold and stones,” notes Claire Choisne.
It was the Boucheron artisans who were able to transform rock crystal and diamonds into jewellery sets that were as refined and supple as the most expensive silk textiles. A new chapter in the history of high jewellery and clothes is written by Boucheron with the 24 designs that are included in the collection titled “The Power of Couture.” This new chapter is one in which jewellery is liberated from the constraints of material in order to display its substance and to be worn in an infinite number of different ways.