As Dover Street Market unveils its Jewellery Market Winter Exhibition, we speak to global jewellery director Mimi Hoppen about the designers on display
The chill of the rapidly approaching winter season brings with it an exciting new exhibition opening at Dover Street Market. The Jewellery Market Winter Exhibition is a shoppable market of high jewellery from independent designers, carefully curated by DSM’s global jewellery director, Mimi Hoppen.
Bringing together a group of distinguished designers from across the world, the exhibition highlights bold concepts, innovative materials and distinctive craft – from experimental, sculptural works to contemporary interpretations of timeless jewellery forms. The result is a dynamic presentation that explores jewellery not only as an object of beauty, but also as an expression of identity, storytelling and artistic vision. All pieces, many of which are being exhibited for the first time, are available to purchase. And as a counterpart to its Summer Exhibition, which showcased jewellery by new and emerging designers, DSM intends to make this a tradition.
The Jewellery Market Winter Exhibition is loosely founded on the idea of doing something different, which is undeniably what sets the store apart from others. “The idea was to bring together a group of exceptional jewellery that you couldn’t find anywhere else in the world,” Hoppen tells AnOther. “We always want to excite our clients and have that element of discovery.” The exhibition features pieces by old friends like Solange Azagury-Partridge and William Welstead – as well as new ones, including Fernando Jorge and Nikos Koulis. “We’re also working with brands that we’ve admired for a long time but previously didn’t stock.”
DSM brings together the best of the best from across the globe. “Each designer and collection has a different perspective, which makes for a super interesting group of work, contrasting and complementing each other,” Hoppen shares. “It’s always fun bringing together creatives from around the world.”
Those include: Brazil-born, London-based Fernando Jorge, who founded his eponymous label in 2011 with a visual language that is at once elegant and contemporary, and Greek designer Nikos Koulis, who comes from a family who worked in the jewellery business and who studied gemology and glyptography at the Gemological Institute of America – he looks at jewellery through a lens that is almost anthropological.
British-Italian Sarah Ysabel Narici of New York-based Dyne presents Protection, a collection of jewellery that sits at the nexus of architecture, biology and ritual, created collaboratively with the artist Kara Chin. Also featured is Nicholas Lieou, of Hong Kong-based Mr Lieou, who has lent his vision to numerous houses from Louis Vuitton to Tiffany & Co. Inspired by nature, Mr Lieou’s pieces, accentuated with sinuous graphic lines and maximalist stones, embody the organic. Meanwhile Ilaria Icardi, who founded her own brand in 2020, works closely with her brother Lorenzo, a gemologist. Each piece is handmade in Italy from responsibly sourced precious metals and stones, and is a reflection of enduring artistry and personal memory. Shola Brandon toys with structural and symmetrical silhouettes for luxury jewellery that is minimalist and timeless. And Mikimoto’s refined yet rebellious collection with Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons is, of course, on display.
“It’s part of DSM’s DNA to support a range of designers, from independent to more commercial,” says Hoppen. Supporting these jewellers, and making them visible to clients in a world that is at times noisy with big brand advertisements is what makes a project like this so special. “For me, it’s particularly rewarding to work closely with a designer and gain insight into their creativity and practice.”
Hoppen joined DSM in 2009. She has since transformed its jewellery department into the prized jewel it is now. “Jewellery at DSM is a category that has grown a lot over the years,” she says, “in size and in the number of designers and brands, all of whom enjoy being showcased in a slightly unorthodox setting.”
The campaign has been captured by renowned photographer and filmmaker Sølve Sundsbø, a longtime collaborator and friend of DSM. His imagery for the campaign is as innovative and versatile as the jewellery on display. “Sølve is an absolute master and had such a clear vision for this project, so it was a very smooth process,” says Hoppen. Sundsbø’s imagery comes together in an installation at the store until December 1.
So, what makes jewellery Dover Street Market-worthy? And what is it that stands out to Hoppen’s keen eye? “The key for us is strong design and a unique perspective. That’s it!”
The Jewellery Market Winter Exhibition at Dover Street Market London is on show from 13 November – 1 December 2025.
