"Jewellery was one of the starting points of the collection, I watched that documentary about the auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewellery and I got really jealous,” Ed Meadham tells Dazed Digital about the story of his and Benjamin Kirchhoff’s SS13, ‘Meadham Kirchhoff, A Cautionary Tale’.

Taylor built a myth around herself for her obsessive consumption of diamonds –  the ice cube 33.19 carat ring Richard Burton bought the actress in ’68 was a third character in their relationship.

For Meadham Kirchhoff’s take on magpie excess, the designers partnered with traditional bohemian glass jewel maker, Lilien Czech to create Victorian-leaning pearl embellished tiaras, clamper bracelets, drop brooches, hair clips, rings and long earrings. They then added more, with crystal covered tights, shoes and beauty spots on the models.

“I wanted the collection to be about the dream of escape and absolute richness in all senses, the jewellery to be enormous heirloom type pieces with huge stones. I want the wearer to look and feel like the richest princess possible," Meadham continues.

A suffocative trip of excess, one which even Marie Antoinette might’ve baulked at, this season continued the designer’s roll of killer, transgressive collections. The concept will follow through to shop floor as jewellery is to be sold in sets of approximately five pieces. It’s all or nothing.

Photography Eleanor Hardwick for Rookie