A multihyphenate expertise, Athena Calderone’s work reaches throughout artistic disciplines. Inside design and entertaining sit at her core — together with her way of life web site EyeSwoon showcasing how her followers can enrich their very own lives. However her distinctive viewpoint on fashionable aesthetics additionally extends to a number of books, a podcast — and now her first jewellery assortment, a collaboration with John Hardy artistic chairman Reed Krakoff.
“Reed is that this any person that I love and look as much as a lot for his love of house, sense of fashion, enterprise sense and artistic sense,” Calderone instructed WWD, noting that his artistic résumé spoke to her. “He’s constructed this unbelievable profession,” she stated, “and the primary time we had a extra intimate dialog it was this lovely thoughts meld.”
Athena Calderone in her John Hardy collaboration jewellery.
Kelly Taub/WWD
The duo first met when Krakoff, then inventive director of Tiffany & Co., joined Calderone in 2020 on her podcast “Extra Than One Factor,” which explores the nonlinear paths of artistic abilities.
“I had identified Athena simply by seeing her round and all the nice work she’s carried out,” Krakoff stated, “however I received to know her effectively on her podcast. We simply linked and had lots in frequent round design, issues we beloved and inspiration. We’re each into kind of on a regular basis creativity and the way it integrates into your life.”
The dialog lasted over two hours, with Calderone concerning many various elements of the artistic panorama. “I really like that feeling if you maintain any person in such excessive regard and you then join on such a deep stage,” she stated of how the 2 clicked from their first dialog.
Items from the Athena Calderone x John Hardy assortment.
Courtesy John Hardy
The friendship blossomed from there and when Krakoff was contemplating a brand new chapter for John Hardy, musing on the way it may attain an aspirational buyer “who’s tremendous eager about fashion and vogue and journey and all these issues, Athena was the primary particular person I may consider,” he stated.
Taking their artistic dialog to a brand new stage led to the 27-piece Athena Calderone x John Hardy jewellery assortment. Predominantly designed in silver with moments of gold, her intention was to create an providing she deemed “deliberately imperfect.” It options 14-karat gold, diamonds, crimson jasper, and rock crystal with items beginning at $995 for a silver with pavé diamond ring and topping out at $6,200 for the 14-karat gold lariat necklace with diamonds.
Calderone started, as she does with all her tasks, with a deep dive into historical past, crossing eras and design references. “I used to be pulling materiality, simply general vibe and public sale websites, at jewellery, but in addition house and totally different supplies,” she stated of her early analysis.
She referenced ladies identified for his or her iconic fashion, too, citing Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, Tina Chow and Eileen Grey as jewellery muses.
“It was very collaborative, very tactile,” she stated, providing a variety of artistic concepts to which Krakoff may reply and slender down, all to “house in on what are frequent threads and customary themes,” she stated.
The duo stated they took the time wanted to flesh the challenge out with prototyping, sketching and firmly considering it by. “I feel that was one of many nice issues about working with Athena, she was so dedicated to the challenge,” he stated. “She was obsessed with working constantly on it for over a yr, which is actually not typical for some of these collaborations.”
The consequence, Krakoff stated, is the intersection between Calderone’s world and the John Hardy heritage, touchdown on a set that his buyer would discover surprising. “I feel we really got here at it kind of an reverse facet. After which in the course of the course of, we modified locations a number of occasions. It’s extra about design on my facet, extra about intent and aesthetic on her facet. After which I might be extra about aesthetic, and she or he could be extra about design. It was tremendous fluid, very straightforward,” he stated.
Calderone added that the non-public and intimate nature of “adorning” the physique with jewellery as a key contact level for her in working within the class. “I needed to make it possible for we had been designing items that felt actually elegant and subtly daring on the similar time,” she stated.
Each creatives have a number of collaborations below their belt, however their joint assortment pushed them every to a brand new place.
“We received to make use of the workshop and the craftspeople in a brand new manner,” Krakoff defined, including that his Bali-based craftspeople welcome a problem. “They love making an attempt one thing totally different, one thing new or a mix of various components.”
Items from the Athena Calderone x John Hardy assortment.
Courtesy John Hardy
Working example: working with rock crystal, a fabric they hadn’t used beforehand and located in a number of items within the assortment, in addition to growing a brand new approach for operating strips of diamonds by the fabric. “That was one thing Athena beloved and actually needed to include. It took a very long time to get them to grasp, however they did a tremendous job,” he stated.
For the reason that model’s founding the craftspeople in Bali have helped inform the John Hardy story for 50 years.
“It’s an extremely proficient and expert group of some 100 artisans that make each single piece and carve each single prototype in wax, which is a really outdated manner of doing issues,” Krakoff famous. “They really do it the way in which excessive jewellery is completed and the way in which jewellery was at all times carried out earlier to expertise taking that half over. They’re a tremendous mixture of historic approach, craft and creativity.”
Athena Calderone sporting her John Hardy collaboration jewellery.
Kelly Taub/WWD
The gathering debuts Tuesday with a marketing campaign that includes Calderone, who already teased it a bit by sporting items at occasions throughout Milan Design Week final week. The gathering rollout comes with a sequence of behind-the-scenes content material highlighting the duo’s work that may dwell on varied channels.
Items from the Athena Calderone x John Hardy assortment.
Courtesy John Hardy
“Whenever you have a look at the imagery, and also you have a look at the product, the design, and also you have a look at Athena’s physique of labor, you actually perceive the connection between them. So, I feel those that love her fashion and love what she does will actually recognize this,” Krakoff stated of the gathering. “I additionally assume folks simply have nice fashion and are in search of one thing new and contemporary in the way in which John Hardy will discover these items, actually attractive.”
Athena Calderone in her John Hardy collaboration necklaces.
Kelly Taub/WWD
The 2 creatives will fete the gathering Tuesday evening with a dinner at luxurious membership membership The Twenty Two that includes a mixture of tastemakers, and whereas it’s not confirmed, the collaboration may very well be the beginning of a bigger dialog.
“I had probably the most unbelievable expertise working with Reed and the whole staff. I like to construct long-term relationships. I imply, I’ve been married 25 years, my first worker continues to be with me. I really like deep rooted relationships,” Calderone stated.
