VOGUE Exclusive: Nile Rodgers reveals the new Skydiamond CHIC brooch at this year’s Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala.

Disco legend Nile Rodgers is one of the original progenitors of maximalist men’s jewellery. He’s rarely seen without a Chanel brooch twinkling on his lapel (you haven’t really lived unless you’ve seen him perform for the French label at one of the brand’s intimate after-parties!) So on-point is Rodgers’s ability to accessorise, that Chanel cast the Chic frontman as one of the faces in its 2023 Eyewear campaign, wearing aviator shades, hoop earrings and double “C” logo cocktail rings.

Nile Rodgers wearing his “Chic” logo brooch to the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards in New York, designed in collaboration with British company Skydiamond. John Nacion/Getty Images

But at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Awards last night – which witnessed the prestigious induction of Raye and Taylor Swift (in custom floral Givenchy by Sarah Burton) – Rodgers showcased a brooch of his own design.

As part of an upcoming Chic merch collection – launching in celebration of the iconic septuagenarian’s UK summer tour – Rodgers has teamed up with carbon-capture diamond pioneers Skydiamond on a twinkling “Chic” logo brooch. In a full-circle fashion moment, the design nods to one of the original diamanté-rendered logos of the band, which was co-founded by Rodgers and Bernard Edwards in New York City.

“Back in 1976, when we first started the band Chic, we wanted to be unique. The group Kiss was a big influence on us, and we loved the fact that it was just four capital letters,” Rodgers tells British Vogue. “The brooch incorporates the font that we designed for the first Chic album.”

A sketch of the Chic x Skydiamond brooch.

Rodgers, of course, is no stranger to collaboration, having teamed up with a whole host of musical icons, including Diana Ross, David Bowie and Daft Punk, over his long career. Chic’s merch prioritises sustainable production, using carbon-neutral manufacturing and recyclable materials, and Rodgers found a kindred creative spirit in Skydiamond founder Dale Vince OBE, whose pioneering company uses carbon captured from the atmosphere and harvested rainwater to create man-made diamonds.

This renewable energy is sourced through energy company Ecotricity, which Vince, a prominent environmentalist campaigner, is also the founder of.

In recent years, Skydiamonds has also teamed up with model Lily Cole on a nine-piece jewellery range, and launched a collaboration with London jeweller Bleue Burnham, through the Gucci Vault. For their chicest partnership to date, Rodgers even visited Skydiamond’s Cotswolds HQ to watch the one carat of carbon-capture diamonds in his recycled silver brooch come to life.

For die-hard Chic fans, keen to get their hands on the design, each piece will be made to order. “I Want Your Love”? More like, “I Want Your Brooch!”