Introducing the 10+ Issue 7 jewellery and watches supplement. The queen of modernity Francesca Amfitheatrof is a force of nature, bringing a worldly, noble beauty to the house of Louis Vuitton, where she is artistic director of watches and jewellery. Whether she’s creating one-off high jewellery pieces or the wearable delights of her new Le Damier collection, her attitude is the same. “I have very little interest in recreating something that already exists,” she says, “I would rather be influenced by something that is new, enriching and conceptually transformative.” Inside the issue, she talks Ming Liu through the creation of the collection accompanied by an elegant photoshoot starring Cora Corré lensed by Antoine and Charlie and styled by our very own Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou.
In fashion, creative directors may be intrinsic to and inextricable from design, but in the more classic world of jewellery, the notion of artistic direction is still finding its feet. Enter the inimitable Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director for watches and jewellery at the house of Louis Vuitton. She’s a force of nature who’s shaking up, and ultimately shaping, creative ideas in jewellery.
Six years into the job, Amfitheatrof has overseen immense growth of the jewellery category at Louis Vuitton, its bold and daring designs holding their own among those by storied pure-players including Bvlgari, Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels. Louis Vuitton’s notable mark on the scene is not lost on Amfitheatrof. “We had this incredible growth, this fast, white-knuckle ride,” she says. “The department has really transformed. We were a start-up and now we’re a company within this huge, huge maison.”
Francesca Amfitheatrof, artistic director of watches and jewellery, Louis Vuitton. Portrait by Alique, courtesy of Louis Vuitton
from left: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton rings in white gold and diamonds and yellow gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
It’s an October evening in Notting Hill and Amfitheatrof is sitting outdoors under restaurant heat lamps but is as warm and animated as ever. Dressed in a high-necked, leather bomber, her hair is pulled back in a clean style. Based between Paris, New York and her home in rural Connecticut, she is in London to accept an award for best designer from Harper’s Bazaar Women of the Year awards. “I never win anything!’ she enthuses, citing her unconventional background, which, she says, makes her hard to place (“The surname throws people for a start”).
That said, her mercurial and itinerant upbringing makes her perfect for the role at Louis Vuitton, a house rooted in travel, adventure and movement. Born in Tokyo to a Russian-American father, the bureau chief of Time, and an Italian mother, a fashion publicist, Amfitheatrof has lived all over the world: Tokyo, Rome, Moscow, London, New York. “Having had the richness of different influences has given me so many different avenues, and it’s very apparent in who I am as a designer,” she says. “They are different slices of my background and character. I’m a born traveller and here I am working for a company that is steeped in travel.”
from left: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton rings in yellow gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton bracelets in yellow gold and diamonds, and white gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery and Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
from left: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earrings in yellow gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton bracelet in yellow gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton rings in yellow gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton ring in yellow gold and diamonds by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
We’re here to talk about Le Damier de Louis Vuitton, Amfitheatrof’s latest fine jewellery collection. It riffs off the house’s checkerboard Damier print, a famed pattern that punctuates all aspects of the house, from leather goods and ready-to-wear to accessories. “Damier was created in 1888 and, in a way, was screaming to be made into a piece of jewellery,” says Amfitheatrof. Coming in yellow or white gold, the design reimagines Damier’s continuous print via sparkling diamond studs. Graphic, ultra-wearable and available in a host of sizes and heights for a stacking, self-styling delight, the collection feels super cool and contemporary, yet also as if it’s been in Louis Vuitton’s repertoire since day one.
“The collection feels like what streetwear did for fashion: it’s got that kind of casual, little bit of down-cool feel,” says Amfitheatrof, who today has stacked one yellow and another white gold ring on her pinky finger, paired with the slinky tennis- bracelet style bangle on her wrist. “It’s making a tennis bracelet feel less dainty and old fashioned, or a wedding band that’s been given an upgrade. It sits in its own space, but connects to so many classic things.”
from left: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds and Le Damier De Louis Vuitton bracelet in white gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton ring in white gold and diamonds by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
from left: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton bracelet in white gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton ring in white gold and diamonds and Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery, and from top: Le Damier De Louis Vuitton bracelets in yellow gold and diamonds and white gold and diamonds by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
Today fine jewellery, and to an extent Louis Vuitton’s high jewellery, notes Amfitheatrof, is about the now. “The trick with jewellery is to make a piece feel new but timeless,” she says. “Fine jewellery has to feel really relevant, for the moment. It’s become an accessory in a way.”
Creating modern designs for today is surely the brief of any jewellery designer, but for Amfitheatrof her directive has a signature razor-sharp focus. “There is a level of modernity – simplicity, beauty, harmony, proportion – that’s timeless,” she says. “If you get those things right, it’s something that’s going to give you satisfaction forever.” She also seems almost averse to recreating the past or examining archives, though thankfully she’s been somewhat absolved: unlike its peers, Louis Vuitton lacks a centuries-old archive to play with. “I have very little interest in recreating something that already exists,” says Amfitheatrof. “Something that is in the past, as beautiful as it is, I don’t need to redo… I would rather be influenced by something that is new, enriching and conceptually transformative.”
Taken from 10+ Issue 7 – DECADENCE, MORE, PLEASURE – out NOW. Order your copy here.
LOUIS VUITTON: DAMIER DARLING
Photographers ANTOINE AND CHARLIE
Creative Director SOPHIA NEOPHITOU
Talent CORA CORRE
Text MING LIU
Hair MAKI TANAKA using Authentic Beauty Concept
Make-up SHARON DOWSETT at Premier Hair and Make-up using ELEMIS
Manicurist HAYLEY EVANS-SMITH at Saint Luke
Digital operator GILES SMITH
Lighting assistants JULES MARTIN and TOM PORTER
Fashion assistants GEORGIA EDWARDS and JOSHUA BEUTUM
Production ZAC APOSTOLOU and SONYA MAZURYK
Special thanks to TESS MANAGEMENT
Jewellery throughout by Le Damier De Louis Vuitton by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery, clothing and shoes throughout by LOUIS VUITTON Womenswear
Le Damier De Louis Vuitton earring in yellow gold and diamonds, Le Damier De Louis Vuitton necklaces in yellow gold and diamonds, all by LOUIS VUITTON Fine Jewellery
