Making nuggets glitter at jewellery shows not easy: Fashion choreographers

MUMBAI - Leading fashion choreographers say working on jewellery events is tougher than clothes shows as models have to wear less make-up, subdued clothes and the right expression to make sure that the focus remains on the ornaments.

Elric D’souza, Achala Sachdev and Lubna Adams are working as the show directors at India’s first ever Jewellery week - India International Jewellery Week (IIJW) that concludes Thursday.

“There is a huge difference choreographing a jewellery show compared to a garments one. Many technicalities are involved. Every other element has to be subdued in order to get the focus only on jewellery,” D’souza told IANS.

“The make-up and garments have to be neutral and the hand movements have to be choreographed in a way that the jewellery gets noticed and is enhanced,” he added.

D’souza, who has been in the industry for the past two decades, has orchestrated 11 jewellery shows, including for Amrapali, Kundan Meena, Lakshmi Jewellers and Rosily Paul.

Sachdev, who has helmed shows for NID, Rhea Nasta, Inter Gem Exports and Kashi Jewellers, says while choreographing a jewellery show, it is important to understand the brand.

“I make sure I sit with the designer and understand his brand, then I plan the show accordingly so that the USP of his brand comes out,” she revealed.

“In a normal apparel show the focus is mainly on clothes; so when a model walks down the ramp, the focus is on the clothes and the cuts, but when it comes to showcasing jewellery we have to think of innovative ways to ensure the focus is on jewellery pieces only,” she added.

Even hand movements and postures are different when it comes to a jewellery show, said Sachdev.

“We focus more on poses and expressions - something a regular fashion show doesn’t have. For any apparel fashion show, models walk with a poker face so that attention is on clothes only but models here smile, pose and are very expressive - this is very important for a jewellery show,” she said.

It’s quite true as models were seen making attractive hand movements and poses to bring the attention to the jewellery pieces while walking the ramp at IIJW.

When models sashayed down the ramp in chunky, spread out jewellery items, importance to expressions and different gestures were evident. It was also made sure they had minimalist make-up and are not wearing jazzy or bright clothes - mostly apparel in hues like whites, blacks and beiges are used for jewellery shows.

Also, choreographers tried to bring uniqueness to shows by experimenting and adding colour to the show by bringing on dancers. Designer Varuna D. Jani’s show started with an acrobat in a transparent balloon, showcasing a jewellery piece.

Farah Khan’s India-inspired show saw models beautifully expressing themselves and showcased the designs through their postures and designer Rhea Nasta’s show concluded with ballroom dancer Sandip Sopparkar bringing attention to a diamond encrusted show, through his dance, along with model and partner Jesse Randhawa.

IIJW, which started Sunday, is being organised by the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council of India, supported by the ministry of commerce and industry. The five-day show showcased the collections of 30 designers and well-known jewellery brands.

(Shilpa Raina can be contacted at shilpa.r@ians.in and Ruchika Kher at ruchika.k@ians.in)