Vacuum Cleaners and High-End Jewelry

This was a first for me: a fashion collection inspired by the Dyson vacuum cleaner. It seems that Issey Miyake designer Dai Fujiwara was fascinated by the vacuum cleaner invented by James Dyson. You know, the vacuum cleaner that never loses suction. Fujiwara created a collection inspired by the engineering of the product as well as by wind itself. Dyson created the set for the show, which included five yellow ducts that blew air at the models. The models wore garments that looked as though they had been created from industrial fabrics and tubing. I don't know that I'd want to wear any of it for a walk in the park, but it was certainly a fascinating creative experiment.

On the other end of the spectrum, I went to a lovely dinner hosted by Boucheron, the jewelry people who were, I am told, the first jewelers on the Place Vendome, which is now the center of fine jewelry in Paris. The store is just across the square from the Ritz Hotel.

We dined in the original apartments of the shop and learned all about the history, including how the company created almost 150 pieces of jewelry in a few weeks for a maharajah who showed up with several trunks of diamonds and emeralds back in the 1900s.

I had my eye on a lovely emerald and sapphire bracelet. But Boucheron deals in high-end jewelry only, which means that the opening price point is about $1 million. I'd have to sell my apartment, my car and all of my clothing and then take out a loan to afford something like that, so I will be content to admire the Boucheron baubles from afar.

By Robin Givhan |  October 3, 2007; 7:37 AM ET Paris
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Posted by: Prashant | November 16, 2007 11:10 AM

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