Celebrity Life

Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Year of the Tiger scratching on the porch of my humble home. Hopefully, once this Lunar New Year brings all the fortune and prosperity that it so promises, the home that I speak of won’t be so humble anymore.

Wearing colourful, audacious pieces that put minimalism to shame this season is essential for attracting good luck and positivity – don’t let the pastel-enswathed children of the church of The Row tell you otherwise. Here is a brief gift guide that will help you – or your loved ones – embrace the water tiger.

Our Picks: Lunar New Year Gifts we Love

Prada

With its Action in the Year of Tiger campaign, Prada aims to bring awareness to the endangerment of the Amur tiger. Prada will donate part of the proceeds to the Walking with Tiger and Leopard Programme of China Green Foundation. The capsule features familiar streetwear staples reimagined to reflect the spirits of the Lunar New Year. The emblematic Cleo bag boasts a fluffy upgrade, while the leggings and tracksuits boast vibrant accents.  

Michael Kors

Michael Kors is no stranger to high-octane glamour, as most recently testified by its Lunar New Year campaign. This time, the House developed an exclusive backdrop in collaboration with Chinese illustrator Ji WeiRan. The heels from the collection embody the feline prowess of this year’s animal with their sequin-embellished MK motifs and pungent colours. 

Mugler

The Year of the Tiger is the perfect excuse to embrace sensuality. In fashion, no one does it quite like Mugler. With the delicate cut-out at the neck, this statement dress carves out an alluring silhouette, and, through the gathered execution of the fabric, it embraces tastefully erotic theatrics that promise to make any entrance an unforgettable one. 

Messika

Messika launched four exclusive pieces to celebrate the Year of the Tiger – two red strig bracelets, a signet ring and a pendant. Each accessory utilises the House’s emblematic dynamic charms encrusted with diamonds. Modern, timeless, with a nod to heritage – these creations, although created to celebrate the Lunar New Year festivities, will illuminate any jewellery collection for seasons to come. 

Roger Vivier

Glamour with a subtle ferocious tint is where Roger Vivier reigns supreme. The emblematic clasp of this bag features emerald and marquise-cut strass and, only fitting for the festive season, a striking crimson façade. 

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane has long-convinced fashion aficionados everywhere of its mastery in detailing and, especially, embellishments. The British brand looks at something as simple as a cardigan through a glamorous prism by introducing symmetric cut-outs and crystal fringe to its hems. Updated with a red colour and utilising the practical, relaxed silhouette, this piece is a fine example of sophistication and utility existing in harmony.  

Fendi

Although Fendi’s interpretation of the Year of the Tiger is quite literal, it – still – creates magnetic results. The bold tiger stripe motifs that decorate hoodies, T-shirts and bags match perfectly with the understated Fendirama monogram. The collection includes cosy knitwear, tailoring staples, handbags and jewellery – a whole wardrobe that begs to be explored and worn throughout the festive season. 

Proenza Schouler

The further we, as a society, as a collective, move away from Christmas, the more sophisticated the sweaters get. Effortless elegance is distilled in this Proenza Schouler number in the form of psychedelic stripes. Cut in a slouchy silhouette with a tasteful turtleneck, this piece will take you from cosying up at home to conquering the concrete jungle.  

St. John

This Lunar New Year, St. John pays homage to its knitwear roots and reimagines its heritage with a festive touch. This tweed dress is a tasteful interpretation of the beloved classics, presented – naturally – in red and gold, with buttons in the shape of knots and a mini silhouette that carves a flattering frame – ideal for seasonal festivities.

VALENTINO

Leave it to Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli to redefine the coveted 60s silhouette through a contemporary lens. The effortless fluidity of this dress is accentuated with feather trims at the hem and cuffs, while its unapologetic playfulness is brought by an elaborate floral print. 

The post 10 Fashion Gifts to Welcome the Year of the Tiger appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

Messika first sprang on to the scene with its fine-jewellery collection Move. Its founder, Valerie Messika, tells us how dance and fashion inspired her latest high-jewellery collection, Magnetic Attraction.

The wearing of diamond jewellery might seem common nowadays – diamond tennis bracelets, delicate diamond pendant necklaces and diamond stud earrings have become everyday staples – but Valerie Messika recalls a vastly different time.

“When I founded Messika 16 years ago, there was a real fear and apprehension around diamonds. Most women only really wore the diamond for their engagement ring or very traditional eveningwear,” she tells me. “A lot of women also thought of it as a stone to wear when they were “older” – they had this notion that it aged them.”

Even as a child, Messika was surrounded by diamonds. Her father, André, was a jeweller who set up his own business at the age of just 22 and quickly became one of the most prominent and well-respected diamond dealers in the industry.

“My whole childhood was filled with memories of my father and his passion for diamonds,” says Messika, who bonded with him over their shared love for the stones. “When I was a little girl, I remember he’d bring back incredible diamonds and he used to let me play with them. My first real crush for diamonds was at the age
of 12 when I found an envelope with tiny diamonds at my father’s place. I was fascinated by the light they exhaled.” She also vividly recalls her father coming home with a pocketful of different shapes and types of diamonds, and playing around with them.

These strong visuals accompanied her until the day she decided to create her own namesake jewellery brand. Small clusters of diamonds forming delicate designs became her signature, as did moving diamonds – the Move collection resulted from her desire to give freedom to the diamond, and is inspired by the memory of her father slipping diamonds between his fingers.

“My goal was and is to create a new way of wearing jewellery,” says Messika of her brand, which opened its first store in 2005. “I had this vision in which diamonds must be modern, innovative and easy to wear. Jewellery is an opportunity to express your personality. I liked the fact that there were no more rules: it’s really about embracing your own personal style and making jewellery yours. That’s the spirit I wanted to inject into my collections.”

Her latest launch is the Magnetic Attraction collection, high-jewellery creations that, yet again, pay the highest tribute to the diamond and embody the brand’s central element – movement – through the theme of dance. “I always start the creative process with the stone,” says Messika. “The lightness and movement, despite
the strength of the pieces, is the most fascinating aspect of the jewellery.”

For the coloured-diamond collection, she designed 16 spectacular pieces, ranging from double-finger rings, hand bracelets, triple-finger rings, ear cuffs and ankle bracelets. Her favourite piece is the Pear Appeal Toi & Moi yellow diamond ring, “for its strength and relaxed aspects, despite the fact there are two stones of 7 carats each”. The ring design places the two pear-shaped fancy yellow diamonds in opposing directions, like two opposing poles of a magnet, almost touching but separated by a band of emerald-cut white diamonds. Messika’s approach to her jewellery is to stun and yet be effortless at the same time, fashionable and still timeless for the years to come.

Fashion is another aspect that’s always been close to her heart – she’s worked closely with strong women in the industry, whom she believes embody Messika’s key codes. Joan Smalls and Sylvia Hoeks are both faces for the brand, while Gigi Hadid and Kate Moss have worked closely with Messika in designing collections.

“Kate has always been an inspiration and a muse for me,” she says, revealing that designing her first high-jewellery collection with Moss was a spontaneous decision. “I met her last year at the Ritz … and she was wearing a lot of jewellery. I was curious to know the various stories behind her jewels and that’s when I discovered that she was obsessed with jewellery, particularly high-jewellery pieces. I took the chance to ask her if she’d like to co-design a high-jewellery collection with me. Kate said yes straight away.”

So successful was the partnership that Messika teases there’ll be more to come. “It was an exciting challenge to entwine Kate’s personal tastes with the key codes of Messika,” she says. “Please stay tuned for Kate Moss Opus 2 collection!”

This story first appeared in the August 2021 print issue of Prestige Hong Kong.

The post Valerie Messika: How Dance Inspired Her Latest High Jewellery Collection appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

The stack is back — ring stacks, arm stacks, you name it, are coming back in a big way this summer. From structural and striking bangles from Dior to diamond-studded necklaces the likes of Messika and more, shop our curation and stack to your heart's content.

Bvlgari Fiorever

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Bulgari’s flower motif in the Fiorever collection, with its distinctive four-petalled corolla, now comes in a scaled-down new size that can be worn on its own or layered. The pendants come in white or rose gold with diamonds. There’s also a version in white gold with a blue sapphire centre, and one in rose gold with a ruby centre.

Gem Dior

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Designed by Victoire de Castellane, the Gem Dior fine-jewellery collection plays on the idea of abstract-organic shapes and is inspired by colour palettes from Dior’s archives. The rings and cuff bracelets, already a unique design on their own, appears even more striking when worn altogether.

Messika Move 10th

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From the moment Valerie Messika created her namesake brand, she knew she wanted to showcase diamonds freely and allow them to move as if they were loose and sliding through the fingers. The Move 10th is the signature design’s 10th-anniversary evolution, a sleek drop pendant style with three moving diamonds that are perfect for stacking.

Gigi Clozeau

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Dainty and colourful, Gigi Clozeau's bracelets are handmade by skilled artisans at the label's family-run workshop in the South of France. Crafted in 18k gold, and dotted with polished resin beads in punchy and fun hues, the bracelets feature glossy pendants such as a playful cactus (in red), the evil eye (in blue) or the Madone charm (in green). Available at Net-a-Porter.

Sydney Evan

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Sydney Evan's whimsical designs with its beautifully faceted semi-precious stones are highly sought after by an A-list celebrity clientele — each piece is highly meaningful, featuring motifs that inspire hope and positive change.

(Header image: From Lauren Rubinski's chunky gold-chain bracelets to diamond-studded rings by Anita Ko and Repossi, Net-a-Porter has a wide selection of stackable rings, bracelets and necklaces.)

This story first appeared in print in Prestige Hong Kong.

The post These Jewels are Made for Stacking appeared first on Prestige Online - Hong Kong.

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The 2020 Critic's Choice Awards kicked off on January 12 gathering both movies and television’s biggest Hollywood stars for the night, recognising each and every one of their talents over the past year. From haute couture gowns to custom numbers, we’ve gathered our favorite red carpet looks featuring Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, and more.

Nominated for Best Actor in a Drama Series for his role in Pose, Billy Porter who's no stranger to the red carpet sported a Hogan McLaughlin jumpsuit, Coach boots, Jimmy Choo clutch, and Lynn Ban jewelry. The Tony-award winning actor covered his arms and chest in multi-coloured temporary tattoos of butterflies with a larger red design drawing attention in the center of his chest. The Farewell's Awkwafina who's nominated for Best Actress stunned in a floor-length canary yellow Elie Saab dress. Anne Hathaway who presented at the awards and who's also nominated or Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie Made for Television for her work in Amazon’s Modern Love, wore Versace with Alexandre Birman shoes, Messika jewelry, and a Judith Leiber bag.

Charlize Theron, nominated for Best Actress for her work as Megyn Kelly in Bombshell, dazzled in a plunging Celine by Hedi Slimane dress with completed with a high slit and accented with Messika jewelry. Jennifer Lopez was spotted in a sparkling Georges Hobeika dress, Casadei shoes, a Jimmy Choo bag, and Harry Winston jewellery. The 50-year-old actress and singer is up for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Hustlers. Zendaya shut down the Critic's Choice Awards blue carpet in a hot pink Tom Ford. Styled by Law Roach, the Euphoria star who is up for the Best Drama Actress award as Rue dawned a hot pink breastplate with a matching skirt. The look first showed up in the designer's Spring 2020 collection, which debuted on the runways in New York last September.

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In our exciting new Travel Diaries series, Elite Traveler speaks with designers, style icons and gurus in their respective fields on their must-have travel items when trotting the globe. Messika, Valérie Messika Morocco Messika was founded in Paris in 2005 and is currently run by Valérie Messika, founder of diamond merchant, André Messika. The fine-jewelry... View Article

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