“Concept to Creation-Optimising Efficiency” was the central theme for Design Inspirations 2018
Mumbai: The Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), a Govt. of India undertaking, organised “DESIGN INSPIRATIONS” a two-day knowledge forum on upcoming jewellery trends. The two-day seminar and think tank focused on understanding what creates jewellery trends in World’s major jewellery consuming markets like India, USA and Europe. Each year this two-day gathering of thought leaders brings forth the expected fresh insights which are revolutionizing this dynamic industry.
The Design Inspirations 2018 theme was “CONCEPT TO CREATION-OPTIMISING EFFICIENCY”, concentrated on evolution and life cycle of Jewellery design from conceptual stage to final product development in today’s tech digital age.
Commenting on the event, Mr. Pramod Agarwal, Chairman, GJEPC, said “Designing as per the latest trends and as per the market requirement is an area the Indian industry needs to focus more if we want to expand our hold in the global market. Apart from setting up new institutes at identified gem and jewellery clusters, the Council will further ramp up its existing gem & jewellery institutes by introducing new courses and facilities to meet our goal.”
The list of eminent speakers in this year’s event includes Alexandra Mor – Haute joaillerie creative director and designer, USA; Paola De Luca – Founder, The Futurist Ltd; Roza Topolnika – Branding Partner, Swaroski Gemstones; Abhishek Rastogi – Head of Design, Tanishq; Farah Khan – Founder, FK Fine Jewellery; Aakrosh Sharma of Caratlane; Mr. John Varghese, Associate Partner at IBM India; Shehzad Zaveri of Minawala Jewellers; Payal Singhal and Roopa Vohra, Jewellery Designer & many more.
Shri Colin Shah, Vice Chairman, GJEPC, Said, “Design Inspirations aims to ignite the young minds every year with eminent speakers from across the globe sharing their viewpoints on the Indian and International trends. Consumers are always on a lookout for something new and trendy which adds to the pressure of innovating quickly. In the sixth year of Design Inspirations we would like to continue to inspire the gems and jewellery industry to focus on converting creative design concepts into sellable jewellery with speed for consumer buying purpose.”
Mr. Milan Chokshi, Convener PM&BD said, “India is omnipresent in the world of Gems and Jewellery, and consequently the largest stakeholder in every way. As the leader, it’s essential that we extend our lead over the others by constantly striving to improve in every area. Definitely, Design Inspirations is a move in that direction and I am sure this would help the industry to move in sync, if not ahead of the industry.”
Mr. Neelesh Hundekari, AT Kearney during his address on the consumer behaviour theme said, “India has the highest fascination for jewellery. With major shifts impacting all categories of consumption, the jewellery sector is facing challenges of declining global demand and share of wallet. The key fulcrum to overcome these challenges lies in the design itself. The market of the future is going to be based on the foundation of values, influence and personalisation.”
Mr. Abhishek Rastogi, Head of Design, Tanisq during his address on consumer trends said, “It is imperative for designers to observe and interpret trends, customise it to suit the region for the successful implementation with the help of key influencers who give an impetus to the whole process from following trends to actually inspiring them. I urge young designers to understand the purpose of a good design combined with the business aspect for creating and establishing trends.”
Alexander Mor, renowned Jewellery designer from America said, “As designers the onus is on us to enable changes by using sustainable elements for the better future of our planet. It is essential to carve out a new outlet for creativity and use it to bring attention to a larger cause. Only then your design has a beautiful intention, it will generate conversation on a larger scale.”
Roza Topolnicka, Head of Creative and Retail Marketing, Swarovski Gems during her address on value chain said, “Brands today are shifting focus to target younger generation who believe in adorning the jewellery rather than locking it away. It is imperative to understand the consumer and cater the designs in line with their needs and preferences. Jewellery is viewed as an adornment rather than an investment. Revolutionary charms, eccentric ear wear and contemporary engagement rings are the trends to look out for this year.”
Mr. John Varghese, Associate Partner at IBM India said, “India is at the cusp of a first of its kind digital disruption. With the emergence of the Digital economy, brands have evolved in the last five years to adapt to new business models. Consumers spend majority of their time in the digital world giving designers an opportunity to leverage this platform to enhance visibility and interactivity.”
“The digital economy will be a trillion dollar economy by 2025,” Varghese said. He went on to exhort the jewellery industry to pay heed to this and align strategies to take the digital world into their plans and see how they could leverage it for the growth of their own companies and industry.
Paula De Luca, founder of The Futurist, said, “Design Inspirations is a platform for forecasting the jewellery trends which is essential knowledge for designers to enable them to plan with methodology and system. Understanding the consumers culture, taste and preferences, translates into knowing what they will buy and how.”
“Trends are not to be confused with fashion or fads,” Paola clarifies at the outset. “Rather it is an understanding of social changes. Of seeing how these will effect what people wear, buy, and spend on.”
Like the first day of Design Inspirations 2018, Day 2 also had speakers talking on a range of relevant topics.
It began with an eye-opening — and mind-opening — presentation by Tanmay Shah of Imaginarium, India’s largest 3-D printing company.
Aakrosh Sharma of Caratlane focussed on merchandising. He said that the designer actually played a dual role – that of designing as well as merchandising. And the respective characteristics of both had to be kept in mind when creating designs for the marketplace. While designing was all about the creative aspects and style and form; merchandising was about the business aspects.
Shehzad Zaveri of Minawala Jewellers took the audience through various trends inspired by different segments. He spoke about the impact of social media; the post-digital consumer; the digital modernist; the retro futurist; and the Millennials. The last named were the biggest segment of bridal jewellery buyers he said. But Zaveri also noted that MoM – Mother of Millennials – was also a significant segment when it came to purchasing wedding jewellery. For, he said, today’s mother of the bride or groom wants to be as well turned out as anyone else. He also emphasised the impact of Bollywood and royalty on jewellery trends.
Dipendra Baoni of Lemon Designs, a strategic branding and design studio, took the audiences through a case study of a brand which they had developed. The challenge was to create a 360 degree brand experience for a tea company, a family of master blenders, who had been reduced to being merely B2B traders.
Baoni provided an in-depth insight into the entire process – from the name and logo to the packaging. What came through was the meticulous emphasis on detail, the intricate planning of every aspect to the ultimate offering to the consumer by putting it on the shelves; and its creative communications. Baoni underlined the need for going into every detail in an in-depth manner.
Mrs. Roopa Vohra, founder of Roopa Vohra House of Design touched upon the topic of the ‘Modern Day Interpretation of Art & Architecture’ speaking about her exclusive designs work with Glass & Gold. Spain, Italy & Russia have a history in works with Glass & Gold.
Siddharth Sanghvi of Cascadestar introduced to the audience comprising mainly jewellery designers and entrepreneurs his company’s offering of Matrix 9.0. which is a CAD software developed by Cascadestar and already widely used. Sanghvi gave a live demonstration of its use.
Well-known jewellery designer and icon in her own right, Farah Khan of FK Fine Jewellery made an extensively researched and meticulous presentation on branding. She not only introduced the concept, the how and why of branding but through the use of visuals gave a glimpse of how the greatest brands — jewellery and otherwise – develop and use signatures across their products, thus securing immediate recall. She said that good designs were not enough, branding – with all it implied – was essential to be able to stand out in the crowd. And, she warned, that the competition for jewellers was not merely from other jewellers down the road, but from other luxury products as well from all over the globe – so easy had it become to learn about what was available through the digital media.
Milan Chokshi, Convener of the Promotions, Marketing & Business Development Sub-Committee of The Gem & Jewellery Export Promotion Council thanked each and every speaker individually for participating in the seminar and providing meaningful insights and directions for those attending.
