In the mid-sixties, French jewellery was a prisoner of its tradition. Meanwhile, new designs were becoming popular among the fashion conscious.
They expressed the transformation of society that was entering a new age: Courrèges designed the first mini-skirt, Cardin created the first line of unisex clothes and Yves Saint Laurent invented the ready-to-wear with Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. In this atmosphere of bubbling creativity and liberation of women, Jean Dinh Van who worked for ten years as craftsman at the House of Cartier, began to dream of a new line of jewellery. If fashion could be altered, why wouldn’t jewellery make changes? The young designer immortalised his first ideas in 1965, distancing himself from tradition, to consider a pure approach to design.
Born in Paris, dinh van was the first to introduce design and minimalism in its creations. Indeed, traditional jewellers took their inspirations from fauna and flora and religious symbols. dinh van was inspired by design, especially the Bauhaus movement, and took inspiration from essential and geometric shapes like round and square, and played with empty and full spaces.
Thierry Vasseur, general manager of dinh van, Paris, talks about the philosophy behind the pure and simple designs of the brand.
Balancing a traditional art form with needs of the modern consumer is not an easy task. How does the brand achieve that?
Thierry Vasseur: The dinh van House was precisely created to oppose the traditional art form of jewellery. The original idea of the House was to follow the mutations of the society, and to follow the new rhythms of daily life, to accompany women in every situation.
Given the current market scenario, how would you say the brand has evolved to suit its clients’ needs?
During last spring, all our markets experienced the lockdown. All our boutiques and retailers were closed for more than two months, some of them for a trimester. We had to adapt ourselves quickly to respond to our clients’ needs.
Our eshop was the only boutique that was open. We re-enforced the digital and eCRM (customer relationship management) team to respond to the client’s questions and needs. Even during those turbulent times, happy moments such as birth and anniversary still exist. Our clients were still willing to purchase jewellery and we were available to reassure and serve them.
What does the brand’s newest collection represent?
dinh van has four main iconic collections: Menottes dinh van, Pulse dinh van, Le Cube diamant and Serrure.
We regularly launch novelties in each of these collections.
Le Cube diamant collection is one of our most emblematic collections of the House. Indeed, it embodies perfectly the dinh van design. It combines two geometric shapes: the circle, a symbol of spirituality, and the square, a symbol of stability. The two opposite figures unite to greet a beautiful diamond.
View the collection in store at The Dubai Mall.
Written By : Nutan Sheriff – Features Writer
The Good
Keeping it simple
The Bad
Pricey
The Trendy
Elegant style that will never go out of vogue