Swarovski is to unveil a major brand exhibition in Shanghai from 20 September to 9 October, celebrating almost 130 years of its storied heritage as Masters of Light across the worlds of fashion, jewellery, and pop culture.
Entitled Swarovski – Masters of Light from Vienna to Shanghai, the exhibition will explore the crystal Maison’s artistry and savoir-faire as well as its unique impact on culture from its origins in fin de siècle Austria to the present day.
The birth of Swarovski in 1895 coincided with the dawn of haute couture, and founder Daniel Swarovski travelled to Paris, providing its early couturiers with new cuts and colours, and fresh inspiration. In the hands of such visionary creators, Swarovski crystals took on forms of infinite variety, becoming a vital ingredient on the catwalk, in fashion and couture jewellery.
Swarovski–Masters of Light will showcase a unique array of stage costumes and red-carpet ensembles – many drawn from the Swarovski Heritage Collection – and presented to the public for the first time, alongside masterpieces from more than a century of the art of haute couture.
The exhibition will be centred around three pillars: Swarovski’s Austrian heritage; the incomparable savoir-faire passed down from generation to generation of craftspeople at its headquarters in the Tyrolean Alps; and the brand’s unique relationship with the fashion industry and pop culture.
Masters of Light will also present Swarovski’s groundbreaking innovations in cut and colour – today the brand offers more than 300,000 varieties of crystal hues, cuts, and effects – as well as its visions for the future, such as dazzling fine jewellery collections made with Swarovski Created Diamonds.