Smiley face charms and pastel colours: why kitschy jewellery is on the rise

Kawaii Sanrio characters such as Hello Kitty and My Melody dangle by the end of earrings. Clay charms feature bold yin and yang symbols in juxtaposing neon and pastel shades. Mask straps are decorated with pastel gummy bear motifs and resin daisies with smiley-face centres. These pieces are all strung with colourful beads and white lettered cubes - the type that girls from the 1990s had a good amount of in their craft boxes and jewellery kits. The consumers of the accessories, however, aren't girls, but grown women who are buying into among this year’s biggest fashion trends: kitschy jewellery.

While Instagram could be the hub for this type of jewellery, these trinkets aren’t homey craft projects. Luxury brands, too, are cashing in on the kitsch craze. Just to illustrate: Balenciaga’s single painted lamb earring, which retails for a cool Dh1,000.

Marc Jacobs has a piece dubbed the Toy Box, a beaded necklace with painted, crystal-studded “MARC” lettering, surrounded by rainbow-hued pony beads, choosing Dh530 on Farfetch.

“That kitsch component that was once reserved for cruise collections and summer days is no more exclusive to a particular season. The jewellery aesthetic is going for a very naive road, with an increase of room for playfulness,” says Osama Chabbi, a private client stylist at Farfetch. “There's a DIY aspect to it that feels very traditional, and I feel that relatability is the reason why it's so successful.”

By trading in diamonds and other gemstones for cheap-and-cheerful pony beads and other materials that are less costly - but still just as statement-making - high-end designers are standing in the same corner as home-grown accessories brands that are putting their own stamp on the trend.

Over the summertime, Dubai stylist Chloe Louise Bosher launched Shinebop, a brand centred on beading. “As a young girl, I always asked for bead sets for presents, and would sit in my own room all night creating pieces and making things up as I went along. This time around, it started because we were in lockdown and I wanted something to accomplish,” she tells The National.

Happy and playful items are needed now to recreate some joy

Chloe Louise Bosher, Shinebop founder

Bosher makes necklaces, earrings and straps for sunglasses and face masks, in mermaid-esque pastels, and with clear and pearly beads, flower and butterfly charms, and customisable letters. “It's bringing back that 1990s dress-up vibe, whenever we used to stack up colours, and mix and match styles,” she says.

Pandemic affecting the psychology of jewellery

Subsequently, the pandemic has caused consumers to rethink how they spend their money. “Although the region is very designer-centric, women are still sensitive to simple pieces that are deeply emotive. The pieces feel very personal, and suddenly the sentimental value is becoming more tempting than the cost,” says Chabbi. The pandemic in addition has bolstered the #supportlocal movement, inspiring shoppers to get from smaller, home-grown businesses, adds Bosher.

Affordability is another key selling point of the trending jewellery style, say Abu Dhabi sisters Nardeen and Sandy Samer, who recently launched Les Soeurs, a handmade accessories start-up specialising in colourful beads and cutesy charms.

Sandy adds that much like other crafting processes, dealing with beads might help channel calmness. “Since we will work with colours, it gives us a feeling of relaxation, and it enhances our feelings of productivity.” Nardeen adds: “When you wear your favourite colours, you are feeling positive and get good vibes."

“Good vibes” is a fitting way to spell it out the energy radiating from the Instagram profiles of the brands leading this jewellery movement, each with a definite aesthetic. At Picnic Blanket, dainty strawberries and lemons built from minuscule beads are strung alongside pearls, crystals and heart-shaped beads. A necklace by Charlotte Rose Studio spells out “Love Me”, bordered by clay bunny and mushroom-shaped charms. At Acid Banana, strands of pony beads are completed with mah-jong tiles, gaudy green donkeys and repurposed Chanel buttons.