Robinson Pelham marks 30 years with bold 90s-inspired collection

Robinson Pelham marked 30 years with Summer of '96, a collection that reaches back to the brand’s 1990s beginnings without freezing them in amber. Shot in Mallorca, Spain, by Buzz White and titled Bold Since ’96, the campaign opened a year of celebrations with a clear message: this is nostalgia with movement, not a replica of the past.

Vanessa Chilton, one of the brand’s three cofounders and its creative director, said the campaign honored the ’90s but was not “subservient” to it. That distinction matters. Rather than leaning on logo nostalgia or costume styling, Robinson Pelham pulled from its own archive, borrowing back pieces from early customers for the shoot and recasting the house’s signature language in a way that feels ready for now. The result is built around “Bold colour. Sculptural gold. Signature diamonds,” a succinct framing that fits a jewelry market where sentiment often sells best when it is worn lightly.

The collection centers on three recognizable Robinson Pelham signatures. Treble is the neatest example of the house’s wit, a single earring designed to create the look of a triple-pierced ear in one piece. Meteor goes more architectural, with sculptural yellow gold set with baguette diamonds. Nirvana brings the color story into sharper focus, pairing vivid enamel and diamonds in pink, turquoise and green. Together, the lines capture the shift Robinson Pelham says it sees in how people wear jewelry now: easy, multigenerational, and expressive without feeling precious in the wrong way.

The brand’s history gives the anniversary its weight. Robinson Pelham Limited was incorporated on 17 August 1995 and is registered at 39 Elystan Street in Chelsea, London. JCK identified the founders as Vanessa Chilton, Zoe Benyon and Kate Pelham Burn, and noted that the business grew from a small bespoke salon in 1996 into a jeweler sold globally. The company also says it sources stones personally from around the world, a more meaningful detail than the kind of vague sustainability language that too often surrounds fine jewelry launches.

Robinson Pelham first reached a much wider public when Kate Middleton wore its earrings for her 2011 royal wedding, a pair privately commissioned by the Middleton family. That history explains why Summer of '96 lands now: the brand is trading on recognizable signatures, but updating them with enough ease and color to keep them from reading as retro theater.