Attire Accessories - Jul/Aug 2019 (Issue 77)

116 THE INDUSTRY EXPERT What top trends do you see in bridal jewellery for 2020? In recent years, there has been a distinct shift in the style of wedding dresses being worn. And I think that by 2020, we will be seeing the results of this through the jewellery and accessories being purchased. As the dresses become simpler and more minimalistic, the accessories can take centre stage and shine through, meaning that statement pieces will still very much be on the table. We receive a great deal of interest around our floral-style pieces, and I anticipate these will continue to be popular well into the 2020s as the industry embraces nature-inspired pieces. What are your bestselling pieces, and why do you think this is? In our experience, brides are just as interested in hair pieces as they are in the traditional jewellery, often opting for our floral hair combs that replicate beauty inspired by the natural world – in a traditional and glamorous way. As within most fashions at the moment, rose gold seems to be the colour of choice, and we have also seen a resurgence in the popularity of tiaras, which indicates that comfort and ease of wear on one’s wedding day is just as important as style. Louise Prance chats to Olivier Laudus from Starlet Jewellery about his future plans in the bridal jewellery industry Do you have any future launches in the pipeline? As an accessory brand, we constantly have to adapt and launch new products to suit the trends and demand for each season, so really the pipeline never ends. That being said, we are about to launch an exciting new collection of bridal belts, in line with the simple dresses we mentioned before, as part of a substantial new product line. These will be priced below £25 and available in a number of colours on our website, starletjewellery.co.uk How do you see the bridal jewellery industry evolving? As an independent online supplier, we have always supplied bricks and mortar stores with our products to sell alongside their wedding dresses – which typically brides would tend to buy in a physical store as part of the traditional experience. However, as we step further into 2019, we are noticing a large increase in online bridal shops wanting to stock our items, indicating the shift in sales from in-store to online. In order to support our bricks and mortar stockists and maintain our valued client relationships, we only select a limited number of online stockists who must meet a range of requirements before being accepted by our team. As well as demand, we are also noticing a change in pricing trends as the wedding industry has to adapt to remain relevant on the high street. Though this could pose a threat to some small independent retailers, the wedding industry is distinct in its level of personal service and attention to detail, and that is a service that – luckily - most brides are still willing to pay for. STARLET JEWELLERY T: +44 (0)208 004 8883 W: starletjewellery.co.uk