Designer Elsa Peretti’s legacy: jewelry and interior design
A brief look at his biography
Elsa Peretti was born in 1940 in Florence, cradle of art, in a wealthy family dedicated to the oil industry. Although, she stayed away from it for most of her life. She studied interior design in Milan and worked for the architect Dado Torrigiani.
In 1964 she moved to Barcelona to work in fashion. She then began her career as a model, as she also fell in love with the area. But in 1968 she moved again, this time to New York. There she became a muse and great friend of designer Roy Halston Frowick, who encouraged her to pursue her dream of designing jewelry and got her a job at Tiffany & Co.
Elsa Peretti turned out to be a true revolution as a jewelry designer, still representing 10% of the firm’s sales today. In fact, the artist continued to design until her last days, in the tranquility of her home; an old Catalan farmhouse located in Sant Martí Vell, Girona. She acquired a dilapidated house and, with her knowledge of interior design and good taste, slowly transformed it into a beautiful home.
The best designs in Elsa Peretti jewelry
Elsa Peretti, over the years has been inspired by everyday objects and situations to create designer jewelry. This is what made her stand out and succeed in the jewelry industry.
Tiffany & Co. bet on the artist, and thanks to her she got queues in the stores to get her jewelry designs. Andy Warhol himself declared that he had never seen anything like this in the jewelry world.
Elsa Peretti insisted on creating jewelry in sterling silver, a material that at the time was not used and not considered when designing jewelry.
That generated a real craze for Tiffany&Co, as they managed to attract the attention of a much younger audience, who were no longer interested in such classic jewelry, nor could they afford the gold and diamonds that the brand used to work with.
The designs inspired by bones, beans, teardrops and decorative objects were an evolution that the jewelry world needed to jump into the modern era.
Her best-kept friendships
The jewelry designer lived intense friendships with interesting acquaintances. Halston was a before and after in her career, but it was a deep friendship full of ups and downs. Although, at the end of her days she remembered him as a true life partner.
During her years in New York she became a well-known face at Studio 54, surrounded by names like Andy Warhol, Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, Elizabeth Taylor or Liza Minelli. Another friendship that we want to remember with special affection, is the one that the designer Elsa Peretti had with our favorite furniture designer, Jaume Treserras. Both maintained a beautiful friendship over the years.
Elsa Peretti and Netflix's tribute to Halston
Earlier this year, Netflix released among its titles the biographical series Halston, a fashion documentary that tells us about the life of designer Roy Halston Frowick. A feature film in which also appears Elsa Peretti, as a good friend of the artist. In it you can see well-known moments in the friendship between the two artists and enjoy the beauty of fashion. We won’t go into too much detail, we’ll let you see it for yourselves without spoilers!
Undoubtedly, we loved being able to see how the designer Elsa Peretti is remembered through the series and her name is revived among those who were not yet lucky enough to know her story. We recommend you to watch the series and walk through the story of this incredible woman. For us, an icon of design and a key piece in the modern history of jewelry.
We say goodbye to her, but her art will remain with us forever. Grazie mille, Elsa!
