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Sometimes a girl just wants a gorgeous piece of jewellery! However, you can only wear so many high street brands before your fingers start to turn green, so maybe now’s the time to invest in some more serious sparklers? We recently got the chance to speak with French designer Aude Lechère, whose premium jewellery collection has just launched at Lane Crawford.
In addition to taking a sneak peek at her latest collection (think elegant feminine florals), she let us in on what is in her closet, what she thinks of Hong Kong fashion and what piece of jewellery she thinks every woman must own!
How did you become interested in designing jewellery?
The jewellery universe has always been a passion for me. I have always been fascinated by materials, stones and gold. Jewellery has been an attraction for me since I am young but it has taken me years to become a business. My husband really supported me in launching my own business so now I don’t have any regrets!
Is there a piece of jewellery that you wear all the time?
I always wear a ring – it is the masterpiece of jewellery for me. When I start working on a collection, I always start designing the ring first, then the rest of the collection pieces come naturally. The ring makes your allure. You don’t need to have a lot of jewels on you; it is much more chic to wear just a cocktail ring in the evening and nothing else – your look is much more stronger.
What piece of jewellery do you think every woman should own?
A cocktail ring of course!
How long does a typical piece from your line take to create?
Most of my pieces are unique, so each piece takes some time to be made – around five weeks. All my pieces are made in Paris in an “atelier” [i.e. workshop] and I have worked with the same atelier since my first job at Christian Dior when I was 20 years old!
What are some of your favourite pieces?
I am in love with my latest collection, the “Nymphéa” collection, the one that is now available at Lane Crawford. All the pieces of that collection look like sculptures, they are so poetic…
How would you describe your personal style? Any favourite designers?
My style is generous, organic, feminine, round, sensual and poetic… somewhere between medieval time and contemporary inspiration. My favourite designer is Boivin.
What do you think of HK women’s fashions?
The HK woman is elegant, she has taste and she knows exactly what she wants. She is very demanding, she wants beauty and quality. She is interesting for me because she is a challenge, she is not “easy” but when she loves you, she adores you!
Can you describe the woman that you see as your ideal customer?
My ideal customer is a woman who is “educated” in a way that she is able to recognise the work on my pieces, that she is looking at my pieces with the same eye that she looks at an art piece or a sculpture. She is looking for something different, a unique piece, a piece that her best friend won’t have. It is a woman who will fall in love with a piece, she won’t ask to herself many questions, she just loves it and want to have it. A feeling you can’t control… She has a particular “eye”, and is feminine, generous and happy!
What is a luxury to you?
Luxury for me is the freedom to choose.
These pieces are definitely luxury status (starting at around $7800, with most in the tens of thousands) but you know you are getting a piece of art that you can wear time and time again, year after year. These are the items that you pass onto future generations and, years later, they still shine and reflect the beauty and traditions of the past. I might just put one of those cocktail rings on my Christmas list now!
Aude Lechère’s jewellery is now available in Hong Kong at Lane Crawford Times Square, IFC Mall and Canton Road (see full addresses here).
