When Reed Krakoff was a boy, he wandered through the fourth floor of the iconic Tiffany & Co. store in New York’s Fifth Avenue, mesmerised by the dazzling beauty surrounding him. Carefully cultivated table settings by leading designers with gleaming cutlery, plates polished to mirror-like perfection and the occasional bauble enchanted the aspiring aesthete.
Decades later as the US luxury brand’s chief artistic officer, Krakoff sits at the head of the company table and is casting his own spell by breathing new life into the beloved jeweller.
“I grew up with the brand. It was almost instantaneous,” Krakoff says of feeling at home in the once-rarefied world of Tiffany & Co. The tastes of the elite are second nature to Krakoff, having grown up in the wealthy enclave of Weston, Connecticut, but it’s his popular touch that is re-energising the 183-year-old store.
“There’s a sense of excitement that something new is happening,” he continues. “That there’s a new chapter in retail ahead.”
Part of the excitement is bold store designs, such as the new Sydney Maison, the renovations of the Fifth Avenue flagship – complete with a restaurant for breakfasts – and the edgy T1 collection.
“It’s slightly more irreverent,” Krakoff says proudly of the bold new range, which builds on the elegant T1 collection. “There’s more sexiness in the angularity and the knife-edging. There’s a kind of aggressiveness with the sensuality of unbroken lines. That’s balance with the femininity of rose gold and a much stronger diamond presence.”
Toughening up the image of Tiffany & Co. has been a gradual process, which caught the world’s attention when Lady Gaga wore the 128-carat Tiffany Diamond to last year’s Oscars, becoming only the third person in history to wear the necklace publicly (it was last worn by Audrey Hepburn in 1961).
For Krakoff, it was important that the new campaign for the T1 collection called “I Am The One” reflected the brand’s more modern approach, casting models with character, such as Australian runway sensation and former refugee Adut Akech.
“I think she is someone who has that inner strength and confidence,” Krakoff says of Akech. “She is someone who has that depth of intelligence that comes across in photos. It’s a dynamic and exciting personality.”
“The women had to reflect the nature of the collection, projecting the silhouette of the collection. These are women who come across as strong. They’ve purchased the pieces for themselves. They don’t need to wait for someone to give them pieces.”
Walking the tightrope between tradition and modernity is all in a days work bu Krakoff thinks that he’s found the perfect balance with T1. “I think there’s an attitude that’s not found in other collections,” he says. “It’s giving the customer something that wasn’t previously available. There’s more graphic sensibility.”
While the T1 designs are fresh, that graphic sensibility echoes some of Tiffany’s most famous designs. “These pieces can become a part of a woman’s wardrobe. That more graphic focus is something that was present in the work of Elsa Peretti. Look at the classic bone cuff she designed, which is still popular today. It’s about re-emphasising things.”
One aspect of Tiffany that will always be emphasised is its New York attitude, which is increasingly important as it joins Louis Vuitton and Christian Dior and becomes part of the LVMH luxury conglomerate following a $24.5 billion deal.
The Tiffany T1 collection is available now, with bracelets and rings in 18k rose gold that are available in wide and narrow widths, including styles with pavé diamonds expertly set by hand in a honeycomb pattern. A striking high jewellery necklace—masterfully set with mixed-cut diamonds—will also be available May 2020.
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