Her predecessor, John Loring, retired in 2009, leaving behind what most people familiar with his legacy would describe as enormous shoes to fill. While much has been written about the fact that she’s Tiffany & Co.’s first female design director, she found that “endless women have left a mark on this brand”—including Elsa Peretti and Paloma Picasso.This isn’t the first time Amfitheatrof has been at the helm of the direction of a major brand. From there, Amfitheatrof did something unexpected (unless you know her, in which case it was entirely expected): she designed an eyewear collection for Marni.“It’s quite strange to know what you want to do that young,” she says. They’re not passively waiting for things to happen to them. Francesca Amfitheatrof was the design director of Tiffany & Co., responsible for translating a legacy of legendary style into designs that look to the future while honoring Tiffany’s history of … Of Tiffany T, Amfitheatrof says, “It’s really talking to contemporary women who are urban citizens,” and she cites the archetypal New York woman as a prime design inspiration. “But not everyone can create magic. Tiffany T is sculptural and bold and very closely linked to the architecture of this city,” says Amfitheatrof.
He was a firebrand, a risk taker, someone who constantly did things no one else had the courage to try.
After school in England, she designed jewelry for Chanel and Fendi, furniture for Alessi and Muriel Brandolini, tabletop for Wedgewood Stoke and fragrance for Claridge’s hotel.
I saw the evolution of that. You’re a bit useless. The way my character is—I take on things in a very big way.
“Exercises that try to get rid of any weight on your shoulders of what is expected of you—I think they’re great,” she says.
She has also worked with other top luxury brands, such as Chanel, Fendi, Balenciaga, and more. I’m less of a decorative jeweller.
When Francesca Amfitheatrof was hired as Tiffany’s design director in 2013, she did her research before showing up to work in New York City, studying archives dating back to the late 1800s when the company’s founder, Charles Lewis Tiffany, was in charge. I tend to think quite big about things.”Tiffany’s maverick new design director chief among them.“I’d never done eyewear before, but it really doesn’t matter—I always want to do everything,” she says. But she didn’t confine herself to the world of fashion. By Maura Brannigan.
Indeed, The New York Times called Tiffany T a “Brooklynized take on fine jewelry.” The pieces are meant to be paired as easily with a ball gown as with a pair of jeans and a crisp white shirt.Tiffany & Co.’s new design director, Francesca Amfitheatrof, launches Tiffany T, her first collection for the iconic brand.
“Most people that emerge from the Royal College of Art are pretty much given a grant by the Crafts Council and a workshop and they will give you enough money to buy tools and rent and keep you going for about a year—and I couldn’t think of anything worse,” Amfitheatrof says. “Tiffany has always been a company of innovators and dreamers who are constantly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with design,” she says. “I’m very interested in volume and shape and texture and patinas.