First Day at First, The Vicenza Winter Show

The 2008 trade fair calendar got underway Sunday with the opening of “First,” the new name for the Vicenza Winter show. The name change represents just one of the changes taking place here in Vicenza, following last year's corporate reorganization that turned Vicenza Fair, under new management, into a limited company with plans for refocusing the shows under its remit.

Crowds entering the show on opening day Photo Credit: AgenziaFotografica LaPresse

According to show organizers, the name change reflects the First's role as “the [show] that lays down the guidelines for style, market and taste trends for the whole of this year, the one that others will just have to follow.” After the long push towards the all important holiday season, the event offers a hint of design fresh air. With a tough year predicted, however, there was a certain sense that designers were being careful not to push the boundaries too far and were sticking with tried and tested winners, albeit with some new twists.

Maintaining its place at the top of the fashion stakes were pieces made up of links. Designers are playing around with this idea and creating links that have a bit more edge to them than just the traditional rounds. Ovals, squares and abstract shapes were joined together to form long chains. Mattioli spiced up their “squashed” link chains by inter-spacing colored links among the gold with the purple and green additions especially bringing out the best in the gold.

This move towards color especially manifested itself in pink and purple hues. With the fashion world’s emphasis on purple of late, it was only a matter of time before violet, lilac and plum shades began to trickle down into jewelers’ display cases. This is one color that is almost certain to become more prominent as the year progresses as the industry catches up on the catwalk.

While last year’s walk on the dark side seems to have faded to a distant memory, a few exhibitors, such as Staurino and Vivienne Westwood – who just can’t get away from her punk roots – were still displaying Goth- and macabre-inspired pieces. For the most part, however, the display cases have turned into a veritable fairy land with light, floral and whimsical pieces, perhaps a fantastical escape out of current reality.

Although snakes, lizards and other reptiles have been popular in the last few years, animal-inspired pieces have downsized with insects and other creepy crawlies festering in many windows. Bibigi even found beauty in arachnids with a miniature spider model embedded in a miniature diamond web adorned cabochon ring. It may sound a little off putting, but the company pulls it off with true Italian style. In addition, butterflies and dragonflies maintain their status as common motifs. A notable example of winged creatures was Italian Art’s oversized purple butterfly pendant, which was bang on trend.

Rings continue to grow and grow, continuing a tendency noted at the Autumn Vicenza Show. Masses of pave diamonds or gemstones grouped together in an immense center piece or the more prevalent cabochons – in all colors though purple hues are prominent – are paired with big, strong settings to create bold, beautiful pieces.

Unsurprisingly, gold in every hue is popular, though yellow gold maintains its place as the metal of choice. Despite the price of gold recently topping out at more than $882, some Italian designers appear unaffected by the continuing price hikes and continue to display huge gold pieces – notably cuffs - for consumers who care more about fashion than finance.

Although the entrance appeared packed, the aisles of some halls thronging with visitors and booths humming with exhibitors and buyers, one insider posited that traffic numbers were actually down, perhaps a harbinger of the tough year ahead.

First covers almost 67,000 square meters of exhibition space spanning more than 24 kilometers and showcases collections by 1,662 gold jewelry producers from across Italy and 30 countries including Israel, Switzerland, Thailand and Turkey. The show runs until January 20.