At Titan’s design atelier, a team of award-winning designers live, breathe and create innovative products that magically weave art and engineering. Every design we visualize emerges from a deep design story drenched in the richness of varied cultures. More importantly, the human-centered approach to design keeps us connected to our customers and helps us design for them a little better with every collection.

Leader of Jewellery Designs

We always keep our collections relevant through an understanding of global trends. Most of these trends, however, hold little significance in our geography and hence have to be sifted out, keeping our consumers and market in mind. We have a vision of how jewelry in India is shaping up both in the long- and short term. What we introduce through our collections is aligned to this larger intent, and it helps us to establish our own trends for the Indian market. When other jewelers follow us, these trends only become further entrenched and help establish us as trendsetters and design leaders.

Defining trends for the jewelry and fashion industry is both an art and a science. To innovate and create our own trends, we need to know what is happening around us. We require an observant eye, a mindset to spot things emerging in smaller pockets, a systematic study of how things are evolving, and knowledge about the socio-economic shifts and their impact. We also need to immerse into fashion and lifestyle magazines, blogs, and big influencers, besides watching the obvious mega and macro trends, and then connect all these threads to weave our own narrative. This specialized knowledge and experience is a must to leap beyond and create our own trends.

Covid-19’s Impact on Lifestyle Choices

Current Pandemichas proved to be the biggest global driver of change seen in most people’s lifetime, and it is already forging new consumer attitudes. Trends predicted for the next decade has accelerated to become part of our lives in a matter of weeks. From above-the-keyboard pressing to the home hub, we are now incorporating new ways of living and working at speed, with the pandemic bringing a widespread impact on our lifestyle choices as well.

Thanks to the omnipresent mask, we are seeing a heightened need for fuss-free jewelry, especially around the face and in particular the earrings. Hence long flowy danglers and chandeliers have given way to the  ‘button-up’ trend, giving more power to the evergreen ear studs — in all shapes and sizes, the larger the better; and consumers across segments lapped up this trend. We would see the button-up trend only growing stronger this year, with the glamorous hoops also entering the forefront — oversized or small, simple or eccentric.

With 24×7 video calls, conferences, and webinars becoming the new reality, we see an amplified need for making above-the-keyboard dressing impactful. We call this trend ‘zoom-groomed’, where we popularized jewelry categories like brooches and high-collar necklaces that help adorn above the waist look. One style in particular out-sparkled the rest — collar necklaces. We made these a must-have accessory to add zing to those never-ending work-from-home meetings.

The uncertainty and disruption of these turbulent times have taken an emotional toll on people who are seeking solace and calm in spirituality. The pandemic has given millions a reason to look inward and upward in newly spiritual ways. In line with the consumer demand for reassurance and wellness, the focus is on mystic and spiritual collections in jewelry. Protective talisman motifs such as religious figures, the evil eye, and zodiac signs give hope, strength, and an inner sense of calm. Designers are mining into the age-old benefits of gemstones to create amulets, using ‘healing’ stones to take care of the wearers. The belief that they are ‘silent protectors’ offers assurance and positive energy to wade through the gloom.

Jewelry as Adornment

The arrival of the Covid-19 vaccine has brought a heightened sense of liberation and joy around us. We could see designs that encourage optimism to counter post-pandemic anxieties. The jewelry in 2022 would be anything but boring and subtle. As playful and mood-boosting jewels gain traction, we would see a riot of colors expressed through unusual combinations and a vibrant juxtaposition of gemstones coming together to give designers a rich canvas to paint on. Minimalism would probably be an extinct word from our dictionaries for a while now, with the rise of extremely bold and dramatic jewelry pieces almost like wearable art.

In terms of material, the humble pearl, which has stood the test of time, is back with a bang this season. In addition to the timeless cream pearls, designers would experiment with the new age color palette ranging from rosaline pinks, glamorous blacks, and subtle greys. The sautoir neckpiece would see an infusion of pearls as a single or multi-layered string or bunch up to cascade in a tassel.

Backing Indigenous Crafts

Vocalforlocal and Atmanirbhar Bharat are strong movements with rising support for indigenous crafts from both brands and customers alike. Locked-down with their close family and friends, people have felt a strong desire to stay connected to their roots. They are seeking comfort in the nostalgic richness of the reassuring past — in terms of what it had that the present hasn’t.

There would thus be a heightened appreciation for exquisite traditional jewelry pieces with intricately handcrafted techniques. We would see designers digging back into our rich cultural past to drive inspiration from our heritage. Designers would collaborate with skilled craftspersons to discover the ‘new’ in familiar, reimagining some of the heirloom pieces into a more wearable and relevant avatar that is spectacular yet practical.

In the post-Covid era, there is a deep urge to connect back to nature. Humanity has realized the sense of urgency to strike a balance on this planet, with an increased focus on sustainability. Ironically, the jewelry industry is closely linked to nature’s bounty — metals, diamonds, and gemstones, and their reckless mining. More and more jewelry brands and designers would now be talking a new narrative of sustainable processes and materials. Brands and consumers alike would embrace green gold more openly, along with an organic shift towards slow fashion. Modular jewelry which is versatile and serves multiple purposes will be the new driver of value.

About the author-Abhishek Rastogi, Head of Product Design, Research & Trends – Tanishq & Zoya, Titan Company Ltd