PARIS — Reformation has made its first foray into jewelry with a limited-edition capsule from former Chloé and Givenchy designer Clare Waight Keller.
It’s an Art Deco-inspired collection called “Midnight in Paris.”
Waight Keller settled on the concept and approached the line as day-to-night pieces, to give each item several possible lives. The chains can be worn as a necklace or a belt, for example, while the line ranges from delicate necklaces to chunkier earrings with linked hoops as well as evening-oriented chandelier earrings. She looked at the collection as a “flexible, mini-wardrobe of jewelry,” Waight Keller said.
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Waight Keller has a steady hand at jewelry design: she was head of accessories under Tom Ford at Gucci, before she took the helm of Chloé. At Givenchy, she designed jewelry for the house’s couture line.
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“The part for me that was always really sad, was at couture I did a lot of chandelier earrings and big cuff pieces, but it was something that never, ever came through to the light of day,” she said in an interview. “So I thought, ‘You know what? Let me just start to think about that in a daily sort of way — what would a girl want?’ — and invoke that same kind of spirit.”
Reformation will simultaneously launch a party wear collection to complement the pieces.
Waight Keller built in the wardrobe concept as she conceived of the line, working on the prototypes alongside mockups of the clothing collection that will also be on offer. She looked at how they might work together; for example, the big cuff pairs well with the tuxedo, and the dainty necklace with the evening dress. It’s an elegant accessories ecosystem.
Waight Keller, who has also taken on the role of creative director at Uniqlo and is focusing her design chops on upscaling everyday essentials there, added that Reformation’s sustainable ethos added to the appeal.
“I liked their angle from a sustainability point of view, trying to do everything in a really, really careful and considered way,” she said.
It took about seven months from Waight Keller signing on to launching the line, much of that time devoted to sourcing ethical materials that would suit the concept. Keeping with the brand’s standards, the 14-piece collection is made out of recycled 24-karat gold vermeil, recycled 925 sterling silver and deadstock pearls and black jade.
Black jade in particular was selected due to its low impact. Beyond the fact that it was sourced from a factory that had it in its inventory for several years, it has a smaller environmental footprint than a mined stone. Very early on, the team knew it would be important to work with recycled metals and lean into that or deadstock to avoid newly mined materials altogether.
Once the team settled on the materials combination, Waight Keller found it fun to work within the framework, then looking at different ways to approach the stones.
“You start with the idea, and in the end it’s about finding the right resources,” she said, then discovering the best way to craft the materials into the “luxury, very beautiful jewelry” pieces that resulted. The polished stones hold a hint of sparkle that recall the night sky.
“We really pride ourselves in being able to mobilize and stand up collaborations and new categories quite quickly,” said a spokesperson of Reformation’s agile supply chain.
The Waight Keller collab is the brand’s first dip into jewelry as it tests the waters for the category. The company continues to expand. Reformation launched the swim category in March, with handbags making their debut in April 2023.
Revenues for the company topped $300 million in 2023, and it plans to launch about one new category every 12 to 18 months, said a company spokesperson.
The brand hosted a splashy launch party for the collection in line with the “Midnight in Paris” theme. “It’s nice to do something in Paris to evoke the story,” said Waight Keller.
Guests including Dree Hemingway, Constance Jablonski and Garance Doré made their way through gale force wind and rain to the secluded Hotel Particulier in Montmartre, complete with actors in the roles of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Salvador Dali and Josephine Baker, along with other costumed guests to add an air of the era’s glamour.
As for Waight Keller, who is among names discussed as vacancies open up at major houses, she kept her next moves general. “I’ve always got things up my sleeve,” she said.
From Wednesday, the collection will be available online and at the brand’s three flagships in New York, Beverly Hills and London.