Emerging designers must compromise to make collections commercial
Up-and-coming designers must be prepared to compromise on design elements to ensure their collections have commercial appeal, according to a panel of young designers speaking at International Jewellery London (IJL) yesterday.
Claire English, Alice Menter, Jessica de Lotz and Gina Melosi were on the panel speaking about the Innovative use of new Techniques in Jewellery, in a seminar hosted by Retail Jeweller editor Laura McCreddie on the last day of IJL yesterday.
Menter, who specialises in using objects such as zips and nuts from nuts and bolts, said: “You have to compromise on design sometimes to make a collection commercial and to make a living out of it.”
English, who makes her jewellery using only found objects, agreed. “You have to do that as your bread and butter so that then you can then also make the pieces you love,” she said.
However, De Lotz was keen to emphasise that commercial success should not come at the cost of individual design flair. “As long as you like your commercial pieces and they still represent you then you’re not losing anything,” she said.
The designers agreed that providing smaller, more commercially viable pieces of work for increased sales was also important for supporting the retailer.
Share
Have your say
You must sign in to make a comment.