The shape of things
SWAROVSKI’S OCTAGON DEFIES TRADITIONAL DIAMOND CUTS, CREATING A NEW CLASSIC THAT WILL SIGNIFY ELEGANCE FOR YEARS TO COME
WORDS BY SARAH NOONAN
Swarovski Octagon band rings, $5000 each, and eternity band ring, $2400.
Cutting shapes A BRIEF HISTORY OF DIAMONDS
Fashion has long been preoccupied with time — its passing, its return, its cyclical pull. We catalogue trends and collections by seasons and decades. But shape resists this linearity. It lingers. And everything in fashion begins with shape. Before a colour is chosen, a pattern is cut. Before a trend is born, a silhouette is sculpted. The swing of a hemline. The slope of a shoulder. The curve of a sleeve. These are deliberate gestures, composed with intention and designed to speak.
Designers have long understood that silhouette is where meaning begins. Mid-century couturiers such as Christian Dior and Cristóbal Balenciaga were early innovators in reshaping how bodies move through space, with new takes on volume and proportion shifting the axis of elegance entirely. These were the first glimpses of silhouettes that were directional rather than simply decorative.