Men’s Jewellery Can Actually Be Interesting. And Vivienne Westwood Proves It Perfectly

Is men’s jewellery doomed to be unbearably boring forever? Not necessarily. The endless stream of déjà vu we are greeted with in almost every collection is not some unavoidable punishment. Some brands are still doing something different, drawing on history, a deep understanding of fashion and, above all, ideas with genuine personality behind them.

Men’s jewellery has either received far too much attention or far too little. Whenever it suddenly comes back into fashion, we start seeing it absolutely everywhere — including places and moments where we would honestly rather not — only for it to disappear again for years at a time.Which hardly helps create jewellery men might genuinely want to wear, if only they carried some sense, some idea, some kind of narrative within fashion history.

The collection aims to do precisely that: offer a synthesis of everything this British house has represented within fashion. Zero compromise, bold ideas, and absolutely no desire to please everyone at all costs. A present shaped by deeply rooted heritage, yet entirely unafraid of shaping what comes next.

Beyond the logo (although that orb certainly helps)

The orb by Vivienne Westwood remains one of the most beloved symbols in contemporary fashion history. It is far more than a logo to splash across billboards. Far more than the kind of status symbol often used simply to show the world that one can afford certain purchases.

Unique, in the way only Vivienne Westwood has ever truly managed to be. Enduring, too — because it has avoided the rather unfortunate fate of so many historic brands, flattened by marketing departments determined to squeeze every last sale from an idea with the minimum possible effort.

Naturally, the orb appears throughout the entire collection. It features on pendants, dominates necklaces and bracelets, fastens pearl strands and returns again across rings.

The Vivienne Westwood orb logo embodies Westwood’s ethos of linking to the past and culture, to inform ideas. At the centre of the house emblem is an orb representing history and heritage, encircled by the celestial rings of Saturn, symbolising the future.

Hearts and skeletons: exaggerating, but with taste

And then comes another assault on a theme perhaps slightly overused within the jewellery world. Hearts mean love. Love means jewellery. Jewellery means hearts. It is such an exhausted reading of such an important symbol that, frankly, we completely understand if you are already tired of it.

Yet from what could easily have become painfully predictable, the designers of the house have created something far more interesting. The Vivienne Westwood heart can be worn around the neck, on the fingers or at the ears. It can sit beside the darker elements of the collection — skeletons, aggressive metallic details and heavy chains — without tipping into caricature. Quite the opposite: the contrast makes the collection far more interesting.