Style August 5, 2016
Your jewelry box is stocked with all the essentials: your silver cuff bracelet, your chunky raw turquoise necklace. and of course, your fancy pearl earrings. Though our tastes are nuanced and specific, there was once a time when almost all high-end jewelry was designed by males. Nowadays, it seems that brands are finally handing over the creative reins to strong and talented women. Here are some of our favorite brands (started by men) with female creative directors!
Francesca Amfitheatrof is Tiffany & Co’s very first female design director. She started in 2013, after previously designing collections for Chanel and Fendi, among others. The now common “T” motif used in Tiffany bracelets and necklaces is of her making. She’s attempting to create a style for Tiffany that is both simple and iconic for the brand.
After a huge gap during which time Fabergé wasn’t creating any pieces (since 1917), they finally decided to revitalize and revisit the Fabergé brand. To take on the task, they chose Katharina Flohr as the managing and creative director. Flohr helped Fabergé establish a design team until she left in 2014. Though she herself is not from Russia, a great granddaughter of Fabergé himself told Forbes that she was “a self-confessed ‘Russiaphile,’” and that she had also worked in Russia for a time. Her main goal was to modernize the Fabergé brand without sacrificing its sense of luxury. Thus far, the Fabergé Romanov Emerald collar necklace seems to do exactly that. (Want one? They’re only $2.85 million.)
Nadège Vanhee-Cybulski is the newest female creative director at Hermès. She was recently involved in a collection of women’s ready-to-wear garments. Since Hermès has long been known to hold “timelessness” as one of its hierarchical goals, Vanhee-Cybulski has taken it upon herself to create statement pieces that are both sensible and simple. Hermès jewelry exemplifies this mission, with its simple and iconic “H” that is ever-present in bracelets and belts alike.
Revitalizing the typical Dior handbook, Victoire de Castellane is the newest creative director on the Dior team. Though their look has tended to stray away from urban city looks, Castellane plans to change that. Without altering the predominant structure of the fashion house, she hopes to find a place in the modern world for Dior. She wants to create collections that are relevant and wearable for the contemporary woman.
The diamond-obsessed timepiece experts at Graff hired Anne-Eva Geffroy to lead the design of their illustrious brand. Their timepieces, some of which have been said to be the most expensive and valuable watches ever made, are now embedded with precious stones by Geffroy herself. Diamonds truly are a girl’s best friend.
Jacqueline Karachi-Langane is the woman in charge of the awe-striking pieces created by Cartier. With an ever-present idea of how a piece ties back into the idea of Cartier, she plays with stones and color schemes to renew iconic Cartier beauty.
These directors are perfect examples of #WomenThatDo. Keep in mind that professions in art weren’t always so highly regarded as they are now. They took risks in their occupational lives, pushed boundaries, and honed their creativity to get to where they are today! Their pieces are innovative and awe-inspiring, just like the #WomenThatDo.
