Elsa Peretti, the Italian-born jewellery designer responsible for revolutionary silhouettes and a prolific impact on the jewellery industry at-large has passed away at age 80.
One of the most stylish Italian women of the 1970s and perhaps one of the most successful women to have ever cut through the jewellery industry, we're remembering Peretti's legacy for what it was: trailblazing, sensual, sculptural and transient - a true representation of strength and empowerment.
Image credit from left to right, @elsaperettiofficial, @elsaperettiofficial.
Florence-born Peretti came from a wealthy and conservative family that she became estranged from during a large part of her adult life. It was 1964 when Peretti, in her 20s, made the decision to move to Spain in an attempt to become a model. There, she tapped into a community of artists that included the likes of Salvador Dali before uprooting her life four years later for the calling of New York City, and began working with creatives and designers like Andy Warhol and Halston.
It was through her entanglement with Halston, who introduced Peretti to Tiffany & Co., that the designer began to work for the historic high jewellery House in 1974. Peretti's first collection with Tiffany & Co - first released with the inclusion of the iconic Bone Cuff - sold out on its opening day. It crystallised her vision of skin-like armour forever in the hearts of all those who experience her design, and her work came to account for 10% of the company’s sales.
Image credit @elsaperettiofficial.
With her minimal "Take away, take away" approach to silhouettes, where masses of sterling silver morph into sculptural interpretations of bone fragments and earth, Peretti turned the concept of fine jewellery on its head, revolutionizing the way people saw traditional luxury and glamour.
Image credit from left to right, @elsaperettiofficial, @elsaperettiofficial.
Her first Tiffany & Co. collection was and remains today as a fearless display of groundbreaking design. Conceived during the height of women's liberation and second-wave feminism - Peretti's designs served as a symbol of strength and agency of one's autonomy. Women weren't just being gifted jewellery by doting men and devoted husbands anymore, they were buying it for themselves, and Peretti was the one they were lining up for.
Image credit from left to right, @elsaperettiofficial, @elsaperettiofficial.
When Peretti returned to Spain at the helm of fame and a historical name for herself, she relocated to the village of Sant Martí Vell where she owned a compound. One building at a time, the compound was revived, and the interiors within remain at the height of simplistic elegance to this day.
Image credit: @elsaperettiofficial.
Remembering Elsa Peretti, style icon, creative and cultural pioneer, artist and friend. Her legacy left serves as a reminder to go slow, tap into the essence, and "Take away, take away".
Cover image: @elsaperettiofficial.
