Hot Baubles from the Far East

By Isabel C. Gonzalez

Bye-bye, peasant tops. This year the bohemian look has been supplanted by Asian attire, including cheongsams, kimono-style shirts and pants replete with embroidery, along with jewelry of engraved lacquer, jade and coral. Asian fashion, of course, has been around for centuries, but every so often Westerners rediscover its riches. "China, and its abundant heritage, offers boundless inspiration," says Stanislas de Quercize, president and CEO of Cartier, whose company this April launched a new line, Le Baiser du Dragon (The Kiss of the Dragon) with designs invoking Chinese openwork screens and fen ling wind bells. Cartier's diamond wish-knot pendant has already sold out. Sophie Albou, founder of Paul & Joe, a French clothing line, claims Japan as the primary influence for her most recent collection: "People always gravitate to Japanese floral prints, as the colors are so beautiful." --By Isabel C. Gonzalez