Unsurprisingly, pieces by the high-end French designer do not come cheap: a single pale gold hoop nose ring with wing and jet crystal detail was on sale for $595 (£388) at Barneys department store.

where people wear a small stud or a hoop ring on one side of their nose. But there's also the septum piercing, which is done in the ‘sweet spot’ of softer flesh below the cartilage separating ...