Tiffany dreams big with bold new T1 Collection
NEW YORK — In the world of style, few things are more iconic than “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” Immortalized by the classic 1961 movie starring Audrey Hepburn, the idea of browsing the luxury jeweler’s elegant surroundings remains the epitome of a glamorous good time.
So when the modern-day Tiffany & Co. previewed its new T1 collection of chic bangles and rings, it invited a select group of reporters from across the nation for breakfast at the four-story temporary store just behind the iconic flagship Fifth Avenue headquarters, which is undergoing an extensive renovation with a planned reopening in late 2021.
Amid the Art Deco-meetsindustrial surroundings of “the flagship next door, ” over a breakfast that included avocado terrine topped with caviar, baked eggs with truffles, pain au chocolat and other culinary delights, Tiffany chief artistic officer Reed Krakoff could barely contain his excitement about the new collection, a modernized reinvention of Tiffany’s original T designs.
“It’s a little more directional, but essentially, sexier, more angular, more modern, a little tougher,” he said. “It’s a new layer for Tiffany but something that lots and lots of women are looking for.”
The edgy collection is a streamlined version of Tiffany’s original T designs popularized by designer John Loring in the
1980s. It features a single looping T with a distinctive beveled edge formed in 18-karat rose gold and, in some versions, with glittering hand-set diamonds. Each piece is individually cast and hand-polished by Tiffany artisans.
The collection represents a new direction for Tiffany as the pieces are meant to be worn every day, not just put away in a jewelry box and brought out for special occasions.
“There’s more edginess with more femininity and softer material,” said Krakoff, who is credited with freshening up Tiffany since arriving in 2017 after stints at Tommy Hilfiger, Coach and his own namesake luxury brand.
The unveiling in early March was part of a big rollout planned for the collection, the first designed by Krakoff and his team since the French luxury conglomerate LVMH agreed to acquire the venerable American jeweler in a $16.2 billion deal. Tiffany will officially join the LVMH stable in the fall.
A few days later, the coronavirus crisis shut down New York, along with most of the rest of the United States. Tiffany temporarily closed all of its U.S. stores, put the flashy campaign for the collection on hold and donated $3 million to COVID-19 relief.
The T1 collection was quietly launched online and is now also available at Tiffany stores that have reopened, including the Houston Galleria and The Woodlands boutiques. Prices range from $850 for a narrow rose gold ring to $28,000 for a wide diamond hinged bangle.
Also in the collection is an exclusive high-jewelry T1 choker that actress Charlize Theron debuted at the British Academy Film and Television Arts Awards. The necklace, featuring 240 custom-cut baguette and pavé diamonds with a total weight of 14 carats, retails for $150,000. Theron paired it with a bold purple Dior gown at the BAFTAs, but it could be worn casually with a white blouse and jeans and not look out of place.
“We’re looking to T1 to create extraordinary things for the red carpet but also to have some things that are more approachable,” Krakoff said. “It’s really about offering something relatable to the consumer who can dream about the most exalted pieces but actually find something in the same spirit and same style in our regional stores.”
Dreaming big, even in the midst of a pandemic, is part of the Tiffany game plan, as it has been throughout its 183-year history.
“Tiffany is a unique brand, really the only American luxury brand,” Krakoff said. “It’s been making the most extraordinary things, the most magical things that people treasure for generations. But at the same time, there’s a long tradition of innovation, of virtuosity, of creating things that no one else can do of the most extraordinary quality.”
Since joining Tiffany, Krakoff has launched a men’s collection, put a special emphasis on fine jewelry (the company owns its own artisan workshops and follows a rigorous process to procure diamonds in an ethical way) and expanded the home-accessories collection. Items in the Everyday Collection range from Tiffany Blue champagne flutes, $70 apiece, to bone china coffee cups resembling the Tiffany paper cups used at stores ($125 for a set of two) to a hand-crafted sterling silver and copper water can ($35,000).
“Everything has a real personality to it,” he said. “It’s something that you want to have and fall in love with.”
Krakoff has also put a more youthful spin on the legendary brand, re-creating the opening scenes of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” with Elle Fanning in a Tiffany
Blue hoodie and music by A$AP Ferg, and hiring director Mark Romanek, known for his work on Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” album, to film Zoë Kravitz as a Tiffany salesperson lost in the company’s workshop.
“One of the things about being such an iconic brand is that people have a strong sense of what they think Tiffany is. One of the most important things is to be able to surprise them and add to that,” Krakoff said.
He plans to continue to surprise customers with new collections (T1 diamond rings and bracelets in yellow and white gold, earrings in yellow and rose gold, and pendants in yellow, white and rose gold will be introduced in the fall) and variations of traditional Tiffany ideas.
“We introduced the first new setting of an engagement concept in a decade,” he said. “It’s a more modern take on a single diamond setting. It’s lower, more geometric, and the cut of the stone is unique. And we’ve expanded the idea of engagement to other pieces, like bands, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings.”
He has invigorated high jewelry designs by reinterpreting symbols that have historically been part of the Tiffany lexicon, such as nature and motifs from the historical flagship building. “We’re developing a look and feel to high jewelry that’s really unique to us,” he said.
When it comes to design, Krakoff says he relies on his instincts and the reaction of his team.
“It’s part of a feeling; it’s not a science. The design process is somewhat mysterious. Unless you’re making widgets, it’s hard to make something exactly to a spec. In the end, it has to be something that’s desirable, it has to be something that people want,” he said.
“That’s always my test. If I put something on the table and no one says anything, it’s probably not going to work. It’s a simple (way of testing a new product idea), but it usually works.”