The TRENDSstation
FASHION ACCESSORIES FORECASTING
Indeed, in the two years ago, the opportunity in men’s jewellery has not gone unnoticed by the industry’s biggest brands. Bottega Veneta, Saint Laurent, Versace and Givenchy, in particular, have made forays into the category. A lot of the big brands have realized they do need accessories and jewellery alongside their clothing — and also to accessorise their shops in recent years.
“Our jewellery business has grown exponentially and we are forecasting continued growth in the coming year,” agreed Simon Spiteri, head accessories buyer at luxury men’s e-tailer Mr Porter.
As attitudes shift, men’s jewellery grows. Tom Kalenderian, executive vice president and general merchandise manager at Barneys New York said, the men’s jewellery business is a key growth area in what has become an overarching strategy for Barneys to grow the men’s accessories business. The new-found interest in men’s jewellery is a lasting trend; Tom Kalenderian see growth potential and a need to continue to challenge our buyers to find new and exclusive designs to satisfy demand from this sophisticated consumer.
Shifting social attitudes: The expansion reflects growing social acceptance of men’s jewellery. “If you go back 15 to 20 years, the only men who were wearing jewellery were pretty much rock stars and other musicians; heavy chains and big rings, that whole Chrome Hearts look. The shift that we gradually started seeing, probably because of the rise of the metrosexual man, was that it became acceptable for men who are not rock stars to start wearing jewellery,” said Tateossian.
“I think, in the mid-1990s, we saw the beginnings of a rise with the influence of music culture; hip-hop and rock played a huge part in this. It was also born out of the rise of celebrity culture, with influencers such as David Beckham having a notable impact on the way men dress. He’s a huge advocate of accessorising and this ultimately filtered through to the consumer,” added Spiteri.
Growth across segments: As well as buying more jewellery overall, men also are willing to spend more per piece. “With all the attention to the category, the perception has really changed. Men see jewellery as an extension of their style, like a watch, so they are willing to pay more for the right pieces. We are seeing more customers gravitating towards our cuff styles. They are a bit more substantial, more expensive,” said Saiger.
“We are talking about elevating our price point with materials. Right now, what we do is predominately brass and leather, we do some pieces in silver, we are adding gold into the mix; I think people are ready for that. I think people are starting to want to spend a little bit more on something that has that material value,” said Crangi.
Tateossian has also expanded its top end collection. “Traditionally our bracelet line was always sterling silver, that was the segment I wanted to be in and then at one point I realized, ‘You know what, I am missing out people that want something super expensive and want something with diamonds.’ So we started fragmenting the line, so there is a very small collection which is 18 carat gold and leather and that is a growing segment. We are selling a lot more gold than we ever did before.”
Though the men’s jewellery market is growing, it will never equal women’s jewellery. It sort of turns sexual politics on its head when you look at it; men are much, much fussier than women about their jewellery. You need to woo them and convince them it is a safe place. Women are much freer about it. They are used to transforming themselves and presenting themselves in different contexts, men are not so fluid. So a ceiling well below the women’s market.