Reed Krakoff Talks Blue Book Collection & American Luxury In The 21st-Century
When I saw the shift in campaign ads of Tiffany & Co. before to when Reed Krakoff entered as its new chief artistic director, I began to wonder where this democratization of luxury came from.
Since millennial luxury consumers’ shopping behaviors are heavily influenced by social media, I was not entirely surprised by the unlikely pairing of three different worlds: the elegance of Tiffany & Co and Dakota Fanning with A$AP Ferg for the jewelry company’s Paper Flowers collection.
American luxury in the 21st-century means mixing your high-and-low purchases. Let their chief artist director explain and he’ll tell you the same
“American luxury is luxury that’s meant to be lived with, whether it’s a diamond ring or a piece of high jewelry or an everyday sterling pendant. It’s when quality, craftsmanship and commitment to the best is not related only to price, it’s related to the integrity of the design itself,” said Reed Krakoff.
He adds, “Of course, a sterling silver tumbler is different from a diamond choker, but at the same time this sort of effortless, offhanded, everyday engagement with luxury is something that runs through all of our collections, from the simplest to the most extraordinary.”
Of those collections would be the Tiffany & Co. 2018 Blue Book Collection: The Four Seasons of Tiffany, which is equal parts bold, creative, artisanal, and innovative. It is composed of five themes winter, spring, summer, autumn and color theory the new high jewelry collection draws inspiration from flora, fauna and the architectural complexity found in nature.
One to be quick to wear pieces from the Tiffany Blue Book Collection was Gal Gadot, Wonder Woman. Krakoff recalls a time she wore it so casually with jeans yet looked as effortlessly as she would on the red carpet.
“Some people may choose to wear these pieces very casually during the day. Some people may choose to wear them in a more formal way. One example is when Gal Gadot wore a piece from the Tiffany Blue Book Collection. What was particularly rewarding was the fact that she wore one of the pieces with a T-shirt and jeans while she was getting dressed and trying different things on and she looked as good as she did on the red carpet in her dress, wearing the same piece. That was sort of an affirmation of how comfortable she was with how we see these pieces being worn—she epitomizes American luxury.”
The Blue Book Collections has an already iconic archive featuring some of the world’s most ingenious designs from Tiffany & Co.’s master designers over the century. Its purpose is the fusion between creative expermientalization and what could be.
“The Tiffany Blue Book Collection serves as a laboratory for developing groundbreaking concepts that will one day make their way into new collections. It’s where our most creative, experimental and innovative ideas begin,” says Krakoff.
Take for example the ice motif, part of the winter theme of the Tiffany Blue Book Collection, which required the most skilled craftsmen to study the beauty of irregularity and render it in diamonds. The premise was the illusion of ice, achieved by individually cutting each diamond into jagged, unique shapes that mimic an iceberg adrift on a sea of platinum. The necklace is composed of over 91 total carats of 237 uniquely cut diamonds that connect like an intricate puzzle.
I pose the question on why inclusion in luxury matters because as a millennial luxury editor, I am seeing the world of luxury with fresh eyes. For me, everything is new but personal, and I want in. My interpretation of luxury as I live it, as my friends live it, is a different version from what a luxury veteran would describe their experience say 100, 20, even 10-years ago. Today, social media has helped the democratization of luxury, though yes it has also hindered it…depending on who you’re asking.
Yet the universal understanding of luxury, no matter whom in the industry I’ve spoken to on this debate, always agree under the mutual appreciation for craftsmanship and creativity. It is what makes luxury both inclusive and exclusive, attainable and aspirational.
Krakoff said, “Essentially, I learned that anything is possible. There wasn’t a time when we were told ‘No, that’s not possible,’ or ‘That’s something we wouldn’t do.’ I learned that it’s a very open-ended creative endeavor and that Tiffany really is a place for dreaming about possibilities and design.”
Because she who wears Tiffany & Co. is the aspiration. She is going places, you know? She has shifted from a job to a career and if she’s spending upwards of $5,000 for a Burning Man, AfroPunk, or Coachella, then she has Tiffany & Co. money. She’s affluent, ambitious, cool, and brilliant.
“The customer is really anyone who falls in love with the collection, who also has an appreciation for the artistry of craftsmanship and wants to make it a part of their life and their wardrobe,” said Krakoff.
Tiffany’s 2018 Blue Book Collection proves to be wearable luxury jewelry that you don’t only reserve for special occasion. Nor does it look like your grandma’s precious jewels. You can in fact wear it with a t-shirt and jeans to Coachella, and later with a cocktail dress at night.
The outstanding questions remains: why should we care to own a piece of high-end jewelry? For other companies, I’m not sure yet. But in regards to Tiffany & Co., it’s what it stands for, in this case, it’s an ode the artist, creativity, and community.
“Without a group of incredibly technical people – gemologists, jewelers who are experts in setting and polishing – we wouldn’t be able to translate a sketch or the idea of a piece into reality. To create high jewelry, their expertise, a lifetime of understanding and interpreting a sketch and concept is a necessity.”
Another reason is Tiffany’s new leadership: Krakoff. It’s his understanding of the luxury industry today and the consumer that purchases. He’s able to understand, but more importantly respect the culture rather than ignoring. In turn, Krakoff has been able balance the inclusivity and exclusivity of luxury while sustaining the desirability that the industry is known for whilst culturally relevant.
“I think anything is relevant if the wearer feels comfortable and it makes sense to them. However, one of the main objectives was to create something incredible and rare but also something that can really be a part of everyday modern life. I think what makes it special is that it can be different things to different customers,” said Krakoff.
Luxury matters because you already live it when you demote anything that is mass produced. As the educated and conscious consumer that you are, you celebrate quality over quantity and over-industrialization. At its simplest form, luxury is the reason why you buy cage-free eggs and Grade A maple syrup over Aunt Jemima’s.
“Everything we work on is connected by the idea of everyday luxury. The collection both validates and supports the incredible history of Tiffany’s innovation in high jewelry and the vastness of brand expression over the last 180 years. At the same time, it expresses the beginning of the next chapter of Tiffany as a true American luxury company.”
Everyday luxury is why the 2018 Tiffany Blue Book Collection will go down in its historical archives as a testament to what redefined not just American luxury but 21st-Century luxury. He or should who owns a piece would be so lucky. The collaborative effort between Tiffany’s chief designer and their talented craftsman, is why they’ve remained atop since 1837. It’s embedded in their precision and attention to detail from the intricate geometry, masterful artistry, their ability to express simplicity and complexity in a culturally relevant fashion. Tiffany & Co. It’s in the name.
Photo Courtesy: Tiffany & Co.
