While leading ladies have always had the pick of the lot when it came to jewellery for awards red carpets, men have tended to keep it conservative with watches and subtle pieces. Not anymore. If the 96th Academy Awards were anything to go by, men are gravitating to jewellery and to the brooch in particular to dress up their red carpet looks.
“It’s a result of an increasing desire to personalise and punctuate,” says Bertrand Mak on the popularity of jewellery, especially brooches, among men in recent years. The founder of Hong Kong-based brand Sauvereign, Mak designed the HS14 Gem Brooch that Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy wore for the ceremony on Sunday.
“A brooch is generally more versatile than jewellery and can be a powerful means of communication. Given how it is usually prominently displayed on the outer garment, it sends a subtle message—political, diplomatic, sartorial or dramatic—and finds a way to evoke emotions with the wearer, as well as the viewer.”
And when it comes to styling a brooch, there really are no rules, Mak adds. “Style is deeply personal, and ought to reflect one’s personality and character. It is dangerous to allow anything to wear the wearer,” he says. “I know many genuine collectors who possess an epic collection that only sits in their safe and never sees daylight. If you are guilty as charged, may I please encourage and persuade you to start enjoying them before you regret not having done so sooner?”
Take a leaf out of these stars’ book on the possibilities that brooches present.
Michelle Yeoh in Cindy Chao
Matthew McConaughey in Cindy Chao
Ke Huy Quan in Cartier
Teo Yoo in Cartier
Celine Song in Cartier
Cillian Murphy in Sauvereign
Sterling K. Brown in Boucheron
John Krasinski in Tiffany & Co
Ncuti Gatwa in Tiffany & Co
Joseph Quinn in Chaumet
Damson Idris in Chopard
This story originally appeared in GRAZIA Singapore.