How Boucheron’s whimsical new high jewellery collection, Carte Blanche, More is More ‘brings joy to Place Vendôme’ with funky iron-on patches, scrunchies and more – interview

Back in 2020, when France was in lockdown, Claire Choisne, artistic director of Parisian jeweller Boucheron, was working on the 2023 collection. Amid the doom and gloom of those days, she set out to “bring joy to Place Vendôme”, the centre of jewellery making in the city.

“We’re the oldest and first jeweller on Place Vendôme – but we’re a fun grandmother,” she says, laughing at the brand’s high jewellery presentation during the haute couture shows in Paris in July. “We’re old so we’re not afraid to try new things and it’s not that because they’re expensive pieces, they should be boring. Fashion is cool so high jewellery should be too.”

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Choisne, who is very much influenced by fashion, focused all her flair for the brand’s latest high jewellery collection, Carte Blanche, More is More. “To precious joy” is a guiding theme, a departure from the typically rarefied and intimidating spirit of high jewellery.

Forget big diamond necklaces to be worn with ball gowns or hidden in a jewellery box. Choisne came up with scrunchies and other adornments that defy the rules of jewellery design.

A huge hair bow of magnesium was a challenge for the Boucheron ateliers, used to working with gold and platinum. “I’m obsessed with technology,” says Choisne. “I want no constraints and you have to find solutions. If you do a piece like this hair bow in gold it would be too heavy.”

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Choisne doesn’t take herself or her creations too seriously. Brooches are inspired by – and look just like – those flat iron-on badges that teenagers once used to decorate their jackets. The In the Pocket, a “clothing jewel” set with onyx and paved with diamonds, is an actual pocket used to change the look of any garment. It can be affixed to any clothing with magnets.

She and her team also designed outfits to match the jewels, allowing the wearer to have fun, like a kid playing dress-up. Even in more conventional creations like rings and necklaces, whimsical shapes such as cubes and spheres dominate.

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The kawaii (cute) vibe is inspired by the Memphis Group, an 80s Italian design collective known for colourful, graphic creations, but Choisne’s approach is, as ever, all hers.