The 29 looks from the Messika Beyond The Light High Jewelry collection which premiered during Paris Haute Couture Week in July were styled with adidas sportswear, swimwear and streetwear silhouettes.

The oft midriff baring outfits gave ample opportunity to showcase Messika’s thoroughly contemporary take on high jewelry with its diamond festooned belly chains — also worn front row by Gigi Hadid. This is the house’s second runway show. The first, took place in 2021 and featured the 70-piece jewelry collection co-created in collaboration with Kate Moss.

The largest, at 33 carats, formed the centerpiece of the winged scarab design of the Akh-Ba-Ka necklace. The piece was some 1,000 hours in the making. The Beyond The Light collection also features challenging transformable components as pioneered by Van Cleef in 1938 with the Passe-Partout and since deployed by high jewelry houses such as Cartier and Chaumet.

For instance, the structure cradling the 33-carat D and FI classified centerpiece of the Akh-Ba-Ka can be detached from the necklace to become a brooch.

Original supermodel Naomi Campbell closed the Messika high jewelry show at Paris Fashion Week. She showcased the hero set from the house’s Beyond The Light collection — the Akh-Ba-Ka — its choker totalling 71.5 carats.

Former Messika campaign star Gigi Hadid sat front row — for the record, current face of the brand is Kendall Jenner — and the runway line up featured Victoria’s Secret Angels Taylor Hill, Toni Garrn and Cindy Bruna plus male model and dancer Alton Mason who walked the Balmain runway the previous evening.