John Hardy has officially entered a new era.
Nearly 50 years after launching, the Bali-inspired jewelry brand reflects a less literal interpretation of its birthplace, now focusing on the laid-back attitude of the island. The new outlook on design comes from Reed Krakoff — formerly the president and executive creative director at Coach and first chief artistic officer at Tiffany & Co. — who has taken on the role as creative chair at the brand just under three years ago.
In an exclusive interview with WWD editors, Krakoff explained that for the first few decades the brand’s designs stemmed from an interpretation of Bali that considered the island’s colors, the vegetation and the ocean, along with other symbols of the location.
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“When I started working with the John Hardy brand, it was this amazing interpretation of Bali, Southeast Asia, but in quite a literal way,” said Krakoff. “The way we’re evolving the brand, and I think what’s going to create a meaningful next chapter, is to take that concept and abstract it and maintain the sort of laid back, unstudied, cool elegance, refined style, but not replicate the elements of Balinese culture, and Bali as a place literally.”
Over the last two years, designs have continued to draw on the essence of Bali, with an interpretation of the “kind of attitude” that the destination has. Put simply, he said, the concept addresses Bali’s spirit, beach culture and sense of freedom and imbues the product with how it feels.
“This kind of laid back, cool, unstudied style is really what we love to kind of imbue the product and marketing with, rather than this kind of literal interpretation of Bali as an actual place,” said Krakoff. “The idea of laid-back style, or sort of unstudied style, is something that’s really central to the next chapter of John Hardy, and I think it also is what separates the brand from its competitors.”
The idea translates this attitude into jewelry that is refined, special and elevated but meant to be worn every day. Krakoff understands that jewelry becomes part of people’s wardrobes, uniquely worn every day for years and years versus apparel which might only be worn a handful of times.
“We wanted to always keep in mind the idea that jewelry is something precious, something personal and something that kind of [lasts] for years and years,” said Krakoff. “As we’re designing, we’re always thinking about, is it something that feels modern and feels unique, but also something that is easy to wear, easy to integrate with things you already own, easy way to update your wardrobe.”
One of the first collections to launch under Krakoff’s direction is the Spear collection. The designs take on the essence of the brand’s substantial archive and reinterprets woven precious metal chains, making them sexier, more refined and more elevated.
“We took that pattern and we created this titanium band that created a flexibility for the bracelet, that made it super comfortable, but then added this diamond-pavéd keeper and these high polish tip ends to each piece,” said Krakoff. “It was sort of an amalgam of all the different symbols and textures and ideas from the archive, but rendered in a much more modern, cool way.”
Notably, the Spear collection became an instantaneous best-seller, becoming immediately recognizable. The design is now considered an icon in the brand’s offerings and has launched in multiple finishes.
“It was something that immediately became recognizable,” said Krakoff. “It’s always something that all of us designers try to accomplish. It’s not easy to do, and there’s a little bit of luck involved, but it was actually the first collection that we had worked on, and [put out] in the market within the first year.”
For the brand’s 50th anniversary, a new iteration of the Spear collection will be offered. The limited-edition concept, called Spear 50, is an interpretation of the Spear silhouette in a bolder, open-ended cuff with precious stone tips and precious metals. The design incorporates a titanium core with a carved sterling or gold bending.
Another collection that has struck a chord with consumers is the Love Knot collection. The collection is the first for John Hardy that has taken on a symbol related to the idea of togetherness, love and commitment.
The Love Knot collection’s designs utilize John Hardy’s signature woven precious metal concepts with a twist to create the infinity symbol. The idea is translated into various silhouettes across ring, bracelet, earring and necklace offerings.
An area that Krakoff said he felt had been underutilized across the John Hardy brand when he joined the company was the idea of men’s jewelry, or masculine jewelry. Importantly he noted that the designs within this category are worn by men and women, adding that the masculine identity was “strong within the brand but underrepresented in terms of the assortment.”
“We essentially reinvented the entire men’s assortment across different silhouettes, across different attitudes and looks in different metals,” said Krakoff. “So, we have a full range of men’s jewelry today that very little of it was there even a year ago.”
Some of his favorite additions to these offerings include a bolder Spear concept that has found popularity among men for a more masculine look in addition to the Love Knot pieces that transition from men to women. Offerings also include a large array of leather, precious stone beads, mixed metals and materials that are more pared back or simpler for everyday wear.
“What we’ve added is this idea of modern design,” said Krakoff. “It’s really the essence of the next chapter of John Hardy. It’s this combination of this incredible craftsmanship combined with a modern take on jewelry, accessories, materials, on sort of all the touch points you see across the collections. It’s that hybrid of those two things, design and craftsmanship.”
Acknowledging the power of the brand’s storied history, Krakoff said that he will continue to invigorate John Hardy to remain vibrant and relevant to the consumer, boiling down to the essence of what has made it great, and “creating a next chapter that’s even more exciting and brings more people in, continuing the legacy of John Hardy for another 50 years.”
Produced for WWD by GABING
Directed & Edited by Gabriel Inghilterra
Second Camera: Daniel Cobos
Production Assistant: John Morales
Sound Engineer: Rubin Nizri